Invasion of the bodyhackers

As we discover new ways to plug into our brains and bodies, we’re going to have to come to terms with a new kind of criminal. In an article in Wired, computer security expert Tadayoshi Kohno, claims that if we don’t start thinking about the dangers, our increasingly complex neural devices will be vulnerable for attack by mindjackers, bodyhackers and all kinds of neuropirates (the neologisms are my doing). You wouldn’t want to lose control over that prosthetic arm, would you?

Think this is far fetched, some organisms already pull off this villainous trick in nature. The parasite Toxoplasma gondii tricks its host, an infected rodent, to be strongly attracted to cat urine. Why? So the parasite can complete its lifecycle in the feline's stomach.

Hey, maybe those voices in your head are real after all.

The Cyborg