Drug overdose caused death of hacker

Barnaby Jack discusses the ramifications of his ATM hack on the first day of Black Hat 2010.

(Credit:Seth Rosenblatt/CNET)

Overdosing on drugs caused the death of hacker Barnaby Jack, said the San Francisco Medical Examiner's Office on Friday.

The 36-year-old Jack died only days before he was to give a demonstration of how to hack defibrillators and pacemakers at the annual security and hacker conference Black Hat last summer. He was scheduled to show how to force a pacemaker to deliver a lethal electric jolt by remote.

Known for hacking medical devices such as insulin pumps and pacemakers, Jack caused a media sensation when he showed live onstage how to "jackpot" an ATM, forcing it to shoot a spray of cash onto the stage.

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The medical report, obtained by The Verge, noted that there was "evidence of tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drug use" surrounding the body.

He was found by his girlfriend, and mourned by the hacker and security community the following week at Black Hat.

Topics: Security Tags: Black Hat, Barnaby Jack, hacker, DefCon

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Recommended Reading: inside a sexcam studio, the death of a content farm

BYTerrence O'Brien1 day ago 0

Recommended Reading highlights the best long-form writing on technology in print and on the web. Some weeks, you'll also find short reviews of books dealing with the subject of technology that we think are worth your time. We hope you enjoy the read.

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Apple doctors: Pegatron worker death not due to working conditions

Pegatron's iPhone factory

(Credit:Jay Greene/CNET)

A 15-year-old factory worker in a Pegatron facility in Shanghai died recently of pneumonia. And according to Apple's medical experts, conditions in the Pegatron facility had nothing to do with it.

Apple last month sent medical experts to the Pegatron facility in Shanghai to determine whether the worker's death had anything to do with the working conditions at the factory where iPhones and iPad Minis are built. The pneumonia, the medical experts determined, did not relate to work in the factory or the production of Apple products.

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"Last month we sent independent medical experts from the U.S. and China to conduct an investigation of the (Pegatron) factory," Apple said in a statement on Thursday, which was first obtained by Reuters. "While they have found no evidence of any link to working conditions there, we realize that is of little comfort to the families who have lost their loved one."

For several years now, Apple has been in the middle of a debate over working conditions in China, one effect of which was that Foxconn, one of its largest suppliers, was directed to improve conditions for its workers. Apple has been pressing to clear up any issues with working conditions in its facilities, and noted on Thursday that it has a team on the ground "working with Pegatron at their facility to ensure that conditions meet our high standards."

Topics: Apple Corporate Tags: Pegatron, Apple

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