Musk's Neuralink Could Lead To Hackers Erasing Memories, Researchers Warn
Growing concern about the potential implications of Neuralink adoption have included speculation about the potential for hackers to access user memories. The possibility was recently posed during an interview with an expert in Information and Communications Technology, though Dr. Balasubramanium of the Waterford Institute of Technology posed it as a question, indicating the enduring uncertainty regarding how Neuralink, or similar devices, might introduce new security concerns. Specifically, Dr. Balasubramanium questioned whether such a device might “erase your skills or disrupt your skills.”
The concerns regarding the potential for invasive brain-computer interfaces remain highly theoretical, however, experts have produced numerous studies regarding other more concrete claims about the security risks of human machine integration. Some more likely scenarios include spoofing, jamming, and hijacking attacks. For example, how someone could catfish you within your own mind, isolate you from receiving signals from members of your network, or usurp control of your motor functions depending upon the level of integration between human and device. The latter case would be similar to becoming Agent Smith from The Matrix while maintaining your ordinary physical appearance. The attacks could also potentially be used to cause brain damage to the user.
Dr. Balasubramanium was quoted within a recent article on ZDNet, which also featured references to academic papers. Bernal, et al, 2019, wrote that, “In this context, users’ personal information, such as thoughts, emotions, sexual orientation or religious beliefs are under threats if cybersecurity measures are not adopted.” The report analyzes the security implications of Neuralink and other BCI with regard to individual autonomy, within network privacy, neurological function, as well as with regard to the potential for physical damage. The researchers note that attacks could be made against an implant to cause it to produce faulty signals, impacting individual users’ actions, or to compromise the privacy of the user or the network to extract sensitive information. Less is known about the potential for memory tampering via invasive brain-computer interfaces, though researchers, such as Julia Shaw, have discovered that memories are already subject to implantation, plasticity, and suggestions even prior to having a chip in the brain.
Dude, where’s my Tesla? Imagine suddenly not remembering where you parked. What color was the car again? Do I have a car? A lot of challenges carry over from the prior world of cyber security, however, Neuralink and other invasive brain-computer interface technologies introduce new security challenges, as well as potentially devastating new implications of security breaches. People could begin to drive you like a car, hijacking your thoughts and driving you off a cliff.
The technology will introduce wonderful new abilities, providing mobility to disabled persons, permitting the streaming of music direct to brain, etc. However, new institutions, new security practices, as well as new psychological skills at the individual level will need to be developed to pave the way for invasive brain-computer interface adoption. The potential for the technology to significantly impact the development of individual personality and autonomy will require serious philosophical reflection and policy action. How will we know whether we are speaking with authentic individuated selves? How will children be raised to become humans rather than automatons? How will authentic political preferences be developed and articulated within democracies? The diffusion of Neuralink and similar tech will also certainly introduce national security concerns, impacting geopolitics in ways similar to current clashes between Chinese tech and the world.
Source: ZDNet