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Europol Predicts First Online Murder By End of This Year 155

Posted by Soulskill from the need-a-sherlock-to-go-with-watson dept.
An anonymous reader sends this story from The Stack: The world's first "online murder" over an internet-connected device could happen by the end of this year, Europol has warned. Research carried out by the European Union's law enforcement agency has found that governments are not equipped to fight the growing threat of "online murder," as cyber criminals start to exploit internet technologies to target victims physically. The study, which was published last week, analyzed the possible physical dangers linked to cyber criminality and found that a rise in "injury and possible deaths" could be expected as computer hackers launch attacks on critical connected equipment. The assessment particularly referred to a report by IID, a U.S. security firm, which forecast that the world's first murder via a "hacked internet-connected device" would happen by the end of 2014.
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Europol Predicts First Online Murder By End of This Year More

Europol Predicts First Online Murder By End of This Year

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  • Self fulfilling prophecy (Score:5, Funny)

    by GigaplexNZ ( 1233886 ) on Tuesday October 07, 2014 @11:18PM (#48088921)
    Challenge accepted?

    • Re:Self fulfilling prophecy (Score:5, Insightful)

      by gl4ss ( 559668 ) on Wednesday October 08, 2014 @01:56AM (#48089401) Homepage Journal

      I don't know why it needs "hacked".

      many bombs have been detonated for almost two decades with network connected means.

      USA routinely kills people via network connected flying devices that shoot missiles on network commands..

      oh well I guess they're referring to only networked devices that weren't meant to kill in the first place..

      • Re:Self fulfilling prophecy (Score:5, Insightful)

        by Tom ( 822 ) on Wednesday October 08, 2014 @02:39AM (#48089509) Homepage Journal

        Mod parent up. The first "online murder" happened the day they put weapons on a drone. TFA is just the usual news-that-try-to-scare-you bullshit.

        • Re:Self fulfilling prophecy (Score:5, Insightful)

          by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 08, 2014 @03:41AM (#48089667)

          This is talking about the premeditated killing of a civilian by another civilian ("murder") occurring as a cause of specific data transmissions on the public TCP/IP-based internet ("online").

          If you're going to count radio-control systems and military systems then you can go back a LOT further than armed drones, but that's not what this story is about.

          • Re:Self fulfilling prophecy (Score:5, Insightful)

            by jafiwam ( 310805 ) on Wednesday October 08, 2014 @06:08AM (#48090015) Homepage Journal

            This is talking about the premeditated killing of a civilian by another civilian ("murder") occurring as a cause of specific data transmissions on the public TCP/IP-based internet ("online").

            If you're going to count radio-control systems and military systems then you can go back a LOT further than armed drones, but that's not what this story is about.

            Does "Swatting" count?

            If so, then yeah I believe it could or has happened already. Skype is being used to call local police forces on the other side of the planet to send the cops to peoples' houses over trivial shit like rivalries in video games.

            Given the nature of many police forces, it won't be long before (or has already occurred) someone gets shot by police over it, or police shot by home owners (if in some states. Not you Texas, your gun laws suck.)

            • As swatting ultimately amounts to manipulating humans to do the deed, I'd classify it as social engineering, personally.

            • it won't be long before someone gets shot by police over it, or police shot by home owners

              If police get shot by homeowners, it won't be long before someone gets shot by the police over it.

            • Not you Texas, your gun laws suck.

              As someone who lives in Texas, our gun laws are pretty good with one notable exception -- we need an Open Carry law for hand guns. Otherwise, we can own / carry just about any gun.

          • but that's not what this story is about.

            But that's what news stories should have been about when killing people using remote controlled devices was news and not normal.

          • Discounting remote controlled robotic devices like drones, robots and such, I think compromised devices like google glass, iwatch and other wearable technologies can be very dangerous, if not fatal.
            Think about driving over a bridge or 2 way traffic when random zombies start loading in google glass, or your phone transmits a virus over to your bluetooth connected car, etc. All plausible scenarios that can take place

          • Comment removed based on user account deletion
          • ...and I thought Ping-of-Death was so 90's.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by Tom ( 822 )

            We're not talking radio-controlled. These drones use networking technology, and if their IP address is pingable from your location is not exactly the major point.

            Given that many drone victims are civilians, in a conflict that is not officially a war, the only difference left seems to be that the murderers are not civilians. That's one of the flimsiest excuses ever to call something by a different name.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Sloppy ( 14984 )

          The first "online murder" happened the day they put weapons on a drone

          Wrong, it's way older than that.

          Rosencrantz and Guildenstern were murdered online. You're worried about the network being used against us, but hundreds of years ago, SciFi authors already went meta and had the network be used to murder a part of itself!

    • No, lying headline (Score:5, Informative)

      by pjt33 ( 739471 ) on Wednesday October 08, 2014 @02:40AM (#48089511)

      The first link in the summary is to a news report with the headline "First online murder to happen by the end of 2014, warns Europol". When you read the story, what it actually claims is

      The study, which was published last week, analysed the possible physical dangers linked to cyber criminality and found that a rise in ‘injury and possible deaths’ could be expected as computer hackers launch attacks on critical connected equipment.

      The assessment particularly referred to a report by IID, a US security firm, which forecast that the world’s first murder via a ‘hacked internet-connected device’ would happen by the end of 2014.

      And the reference that it mentions is right here [europa.eu] and says

      With more objects being connected to the Internet and the creation of new types of critical infrastructure, we can expect to see (more) targeted attacks on existing and emerging infrastructures, including new forms of blackmailing and extortion schemes (e.g. ransomware for smart cars or smart homes), data theft, physical injury and possible death [188], and new types of botnets.

      No mention of 2014. No assertion that it will happen: just that it might.

      TL;DR: Europol isn't predicting an online murder in 2014. That's just a subeditor who either didn't understand the plain English of the reporter or who chose to outright lie when writing the headline in order to sensationalise it.

      • Please /., gimme a handful of points to share. I need to throw some at this guy. More often than not, what's found behind a fantastic headlines are usually so much more sober that it becomes almost the opposite of what the headliner claims.
      • I think it's fairly safe to say that the majority of headlines these days are sensationalised.

      • Re:No, lying headline (Score:5, Informative)

        by Whibla ( 210729 ) on Wednesday October 08, 2014 @06:30AM (#48090109)

        Informative? Not so much...

        If you're going to go to all the effort to read the article, you might like to spend the extra 3 seconds to follow the linked reference [internetidentity.com] (quoted in your post as [188]).

        IID ... today issued a midterm report on its cybersecurity predictions for 2014, revealing we are on our way to seeing many of these prognostications become a reality. Last year at this time, IID boldly envisioned that by the end of 2014:

          We will witness the first ever public case of murder via hacked Internet-connected device.

        The article goes on to say:

        There has yet to be a proven case of murder via Internet. However, former Vice President Dick Cheney revealed in October 2013 that he underwent surgery to turn off the wireless function on his pacemaker, to prevent it from being hacked.

        You end with:

        TL;DR: Europol isn't predicting an online murder in 2014. That's just a subeditor who either didn't understand the plain English of the reporter or who chose to outright lie when writing the headline in order to sensationalise it.

        A headline has to be short, and unfortunately in that shortening some information is lost. Sure, it would have been more accurate to say "Europol reports that a security firm predicts the first online murder by the end of this year", but removing the bolded part strikes me as an acceptable precis of (that small section of) the article. Complaining that editors sensationalise headlines in order to encourage people to read the full article is akin to complaining that advertisements are designed solely to get you to buy a product. Well, duh!

        As for lying, you're as guilty as a lie by ommission as they are of any lie by commission.

        • Re:No, lying headline (Score:4, Informative)

          by pjt33 ( 739471 ) on Wednesday October 08, 2014 @06:50AM (#48090173)

          I quoted the part of the article where the reporter states that the security firm made that forecast. But as often happens, the headline makes claims which don't match either the truth or the body of the article. It's far from unknown for reporters or opinion writers to get a nasty shock when they see the headline which the subeditor chose to put on their copy.

          If the issue were the length of the headline, a 20% saving could be made and the accuracy improved by rewriting it to "Online attacks could lead to deaths, warns Europol".

      • I find it very likely that the first online murder has already occurred. Although it may have been ruled manslaughter. Someone has probably hacked a hospital or a pacemaker or something and gotten somebody killed.

    • Drone strikes already murder people every day.

  • Are they saying... (Score:5, Funny)

    by flu1d ( 664635 ) on Tuesday October 07, 2014 @11:19PM (#48088927) Homepage
    That monitor mounted, usb powered (web) gun wasn't the best purchase?

    • That or unless there's some kind of internet connected medical equipment that has the ability to kill you, how the fuck is this supposed to happen? I think it would be equally feasible to induce a nuclear reactor into meltdown in the same vein as how Stuxnet destroyed all of that equipment while giving false readings on the indicators.

      That is to say, not fucking likely.

      If somebody had the kind of resources to pull such a thing off, I think their victim is already in a vulnerable enough state that they could

      • The two likeliest methods, in a very general sense, are by medical device and by starting a fire. This is not including what some posters are speculating about - planting false data to trigger police SWAT raids and similar things, because that isn't really within the scope of what European Law enforcement is postulating. (and really, making a false police report by computer is not that distinct from making a false police report by other means).
        Without going into detail which mig

        • making a false police report by computer is not that distinct from making a false police report by other means

          Oh yes it is!!! -- Amazon Patent Team

  • Bash.org (Score:3, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 07, 2014 @11:29PM (#48088965)

    The day is near when we can finally stab people in the face over the internet.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by PPH ( 736903 )

      Slashdot moderation is finally going to be fun!

    • Mod parent up (Score:4, Interesting)

      by Prune ( 557140 ) on Wednesday October 08, 2014 @02:34AM (#48089491)
      Ah, a deliciously nerdy reference to the famous IRC quote, one of the top-rated ones on the quote database [bash.org]:

      <Zybl0re> get up
      <Zybl0re> get on up
      <Zybl0re>get up
      <Zybl0re>get on up
      <phxl|paper>and DANCE
      * nmp3bot dances :D-<
      * nmp3bot dances :D|-<
      * nmp3bot dances :D/-<
      <[SA]HatfulOfHollow>i'm going to become rich and famous after i invent a device that allows you to stab people in the face over the internet
  • We wouldn't need to discuss this if the medical device manufacturers stopped using consumer-grade wireless radios and protocols. But of course that would cost more money to research and develop, yada yada yada. There's a cheap solution to this problem, however. Dispense with the tinfoil hats and go for a full-blown tinfoil body wrap. Problem solved!

  • Note to self: (Score:5, Funny)

    by Ignacio ( 1465 ) on Tuesday October 07, 2014 @11:34PM (#48088983)

    Do NOT Internet-enable the wheeled stabbing machine I am currently working on...

  • oh..that's what it's for!

  • Dear doc... (Score:4, Funny)

    by Kekke ( 236130 ) on Tuesday October 07, 2014 @11:40PM (#48088999) Journal

    Please use TOR when fetching My ventilator's new firmware.
    And while yer add it, pls remove the rootkit from the darn Dialysis machine. My granddaughter charged Her iPhone from it's usb port.
    My blood salts have been through the roof ever since....

    PS:
    My wheelchair threatens to ran me off cliff, if the payment isn't complete in three days.

  • Bring back the WinNuke! (Score:3)

    by Cito ( 1725214 ) on Wednesday October 08, 2014 @12:00AM (#48089063)

    Give whole new meaning to the famous mid 90s exploit instantly blue screening all Windows and locking up Linux 2.0.30 and below kernels by popping port 139.

    Make it literal :-P

  • My gut tells me it's going to be a 14 or 15 year old boy who does it for the yuks, and doesn't really have a grasp on what a horrible thing it is.

    • My gut tells me

      When my gut speaks, it's usually with low, growling voice and a terrible halitosis.

  • It'll be a vehicle (Score:3)

    by chrism238 ( 657741 ) on Wednesday October 08, 2014 @12:18AM (#48089111)
    If it's sanguine to place bets, my money's on an Internet accessible, or controlled, car killing its driver or targeting a pedestrian.

  • More fear mongering. (Score:3, Interesting)

    by seoras ( 147590 ) on Wednesday October 08, 2014 @12:33AM (#48089161)

    F.U.D http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fear,_uncertainty_and_doubt

    Anyone else getting a bit fed up with all this fear BS?
    I'm I alone in feeling like our governments are treating us like a herd of sheep using fear to herd us and control us?

    Only earlier today we had a post about giving up freedoms so we can be better protected.
    http://news.slashdot.org/story/14/10/07/0235241/brits-must-trade-digital-freedoms-for-safety-says-crime-agency-boss

    Now another article where we are again being told that a free internet is a physical threat to us and we can be murdered online. ...."found that governments are not equipped to fight the growing threat of "online murder", ..".
    The solution - give up our freedom online.

    How long until a post like this is blacked out as "unsafe".
    Who is it really unsafe for?

    • Bullshit. Your freedom to do what you like (on the internet or elsewhere) certainly does not extend to the freedom to murder people.

      It seems entirely reasonable to me to think about the potential problems caused by an "internet of things". Cheerleading progress for its own sake, with no regard to any downsides, is childish.

      • Your freedom to do what you like (on the internet or elsewhere) certainly does not extend to the freedom to murder people.

        Of course not. But thinking about the potential problems and violating a person's liberty on the basis that someone else might abuse it are two entirely different things. By all means, consider the problems—and find the solutions which preserve freedom for everyone.

    • you are not incorrect and you are not alone.

  • Someone just killed my dog, why?

    • Because it might have been carrying ebola [npr.org]?

      For those who haven't read it, John Varley's "Press Enter" is what a series of internet murders could really look like. It reads like a blueprint or how-to.

  • What a load of cyber BS ..

  • The framers of the constitution could not possibly have anticipated a world with such a thing as this "murder".

  • ... & blow your family to smithereens!

    http://i.imgur.com/0BSZXxl.jpg [imgur.com]

  • Who cares if someone uses the internet to murder my Facebook account? On the other hand, if it's real world murder, then it's just as much murder regardless of how it was done.

  • CPU opcode "HCF" meaning "halt and catch fire". Could affect user.
    http://www.catb.org/jargon/htm... [catb.org]

    Or - of course, just including the control character "EOU" in any message sent:
    http://www.catb.org/jargon/htm... [catb.org]

    • Making a laptop/smartphone 'halt and catch fire' is potentialy a real threat. Not by overheating the CPU, but by targeting the battery charging system. Lithium-based batteries can 'explode' (burn very violently) - if mistreated - e.g. overcharged. If the battery charging system has elements of firmware control, that might be a real risk?
  • But online murders have been happening for a while, via military UAVs...
  • My guess is it's going to be C0lMu5+rd in the IRC chat-room with the FDA-Pee-Hole-Device int-range overflow exploit! How'd I do?

  • Would smashing oneself over the head with a #@%& Comcast modem count?

  • So is that maybe what happened when the Roomba ate my parakeet ?
    Yep, that's it...the bird was hacked!

  • Currently there are thousands of heart pacemakers which wirelessly connect to interrogator devices that sit next to the bed every night. Those devices check the device every night and check in with the company if there's any problem.

    Is it impossible to reprogram those interrogators? The manufacturers say so. I guess we should believe them?

    • I'm pretty sure I saw this demonstrated on a documentary called "Homeland" a year or two ago, so it's definitely possible.

  • That's what I tried to explain to my neighbour when my AirDrone 'inexplicably' went through his greenhouse, destroying his precious, award winning rose.

  • Hundred of Bombs have been exploded via cellphones, is it really that more 'modern' if it's done via SIP or Skype?

  • I can't remember exactly which book, but the book pointed out how easy it could be.

    Ignore messing around with firmware etc. The book foretold the story that someone would be using a online take out service/delivery service and they had setup all their allergies so that any restaurant saw a red flag and to be careful what goes in the meal. Someone hacks into just-eat or whomever the provider is. The customers Peanut allergy suddenly goes away on the notes and the dish is prepared as normal a week later. Inst

    • ... and the dish is prepared as normal a week later. Instant severe incident if not death.

      I'm so glad I don't have food allergies.

      Me, too, neither.

      Although if I did have a potentially deadly aversion to some foods, I would have to be without food for some time before eating a meal prepared by strangers.

    • My plan, I would data mine you to figure out what fast food outlets you like and if you have any addictions.
      Then send you free bacon cheeseburgers, cigarettes, venti coffee that's pure espresso shots. Whatever you have trouble saying no to the most.
      It would kill you, eventually, unless you started exercising, eating right, and maybe a trip to a detox clinic.

      • My plan, I would data mine you to figure out what fast food outlets you like and if you have any addictions.
        Then send you free bacon cheeseburgers, cigarettes, venti coffee that's pure espresso shots. Whatever you have trouble saying no to the most.
        It would kill you, eventually, unless you started exercising, eating right, and maybe a trip to a detox clinic.

        Can I volunteer to be your enemy?

        My death/wish-list:

        Kobe beefburgers
        That coffee that's made from cats shitting out beans, whatever it's called
        Single malt scotch
        Cuban cigars

    • I can't remember exactly which book, but the book pointed out how easy it could be.

      Ignore messing around with firmware etc. The book foretold the story that someone would be using a online take out service/delivery service and they had setup all their allergies so that any restaurant saw a red flag and to be careful what goes in the meal. Someone hacks into just-eat or whomever the provider is. The customers Peanut allergy suddenly goes away on the notes and the dish is prepared as normal a week later. Instant severe incident if not death.

      I'm so glad I don't have food allergies.

      That sounds more like some sort of "perfect crime" story than a serious threat.

      I'm pretty sure that if I had a real, fatal food allergy I wouldn't be eating anything I hadn't seen prepared with my own eyes.

      I definitely wouldn't be relying on Domino's Pizza or whoever to custom bake my pizza in a separate, sterile area.

  • Speaking of... (Score:3)

    by sootman ( 158191 ) on Wednesday October 08, 2014 @08:01AM (#48090549) Homepage Journal

    The book Daemon by Daniel Suarez was pretty good. Started out just the littlest bit cheesy -- someone was killed by the Internet! -- but I'm glad I stuck with it because it quickly became really good. The sequel, Freedom (TM), did nothing for me.

  • I've got more important things to worry about.

    • You hope you've got more important things to worry about. But when your router catches fire in the middle of the night before you were due to change your will...

      • the night before you were due to change your will...

        No way! It will be the night after you changed your will. To give everything to Google. Life insurance paid out by a wholly owned subsidiary of Google.

  • That sounds like an innovative business method patent for assassins:

    Claim 1: Murder, using a computing device consisting of a visual display and keyboard orchestrated using the internet.

  • Technological progress continues apace.

  • This add a whole new meaning to the term Hacker!
  • That is an old shoe by now. Do you remember that Journalist whose car exploded? The engine was forund several meters from his car. Although it's not offical, it's extremely likely that his car was hacked. (trying to find source)
  • Step 1. Weaponize my "Laser" printer
    Step 2. ???
    Step 3. Online murder

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by fhage ( 596871 )

      Step 1. Weaponize my "Laser" printer ...

      Perhaps not as far fetched as one might expect.

      Many Google Cloud Print laser printers are constantly connected to the cloud and have a software controlled heat element with the potential to start a fire. Anyone who can access the owner's Google account could send the printer malicious commands.

      Another potential fire vector is smart devices with Li batteries. Charge a Li battery too long and it may burst into fire. Charging is typically software controlled and most people leave their smart phones and othe

  • "FOOLS! I have invented a USB device which can collect votes from the Internet and drive a knife through your heart!"
    http://achewood.com/index.php?... [achewood.com]

  • Have you *read* Null Pointer by Johnny Batch? You should, because it's all about an online murder that only a programmer can solve. http://www.amazon.com/Null-Poi... [amazon.com] http://www.barnesandnoble.com/... [barnesandnoble.com]
  • Seriously? 150+ comments and no one posts that the first "online murder" will be accompanied by a "First!!" comment when it happens?
  • ISBN 978-0-441-02034-8

    Published 2011.

    Murder by hacking of internet-connected devices (such as an automated enema-delivering wank-bot which got loaded up with dietary additives that killed the wankee) was a major plot element.

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