Would YOU be microchipped? Kaspersky implants chip in man's hand

• Volunteer has 2mm microchip injected into his hand at an event in Berlin
• He could soon use it to unlock his phone and certain doors, for example
• Experts believe the technology could become the norm once the chips can be used for more actions and can be encrypted
• One expert believes there is even potential to link with the nervous system

In a dystopian sci-fi vision of the future, humans are often microchipped so they can be controlled to do everything from housework to committing crime.

And today this futuristic vision became a reality during an event at IFA in Berlin.

A volunteer attending security firm Kaspersky’s conference had a chip implanted into his hand that could potentially unlock his phone.

It is the latest in a growing movement called ‘biohacking’ in which people implant chips into their bodies to perform simple tasks they would typically use their phone or smartwatch to do.

Marcus Preuss, director of Kaspersky’s global research team in Europe, said: ‘The next logical step is not to stop at wearables such as smartwatches, but go under the skin to enable more functionalities.

At the event, a Kaspersky employee had a chip the size of a grain of rice encased in glass inserted into his hand.

A professional piercer loaded it into a needle and pushed it into the skin between the man’s thumb and forefinger, where he explained it will move around for the first week or so and leave some bruising.

Such chips can be bought online for under £100 ($152) and intrepid users can even insert them themselves using a sizeable needle that comes with the kit, although this is not encouraged.

At the moment, the chip, which uses RFID technology, has been shown to be used to perform simple actions such as opening a door or unlocking a phone.

‘At the moment, it’s quite limited,’ Mr Preuss admitted.

But in the future, users may be able to wave their hand in front of a pay terminal to buy goods in shops, or swipe a reader to ride a train, for example.

It may also become possible to use such a chip to unlock a front door, or start a car.

Speaking as part of a panel of experts, Swedish biohacker Hannes Sjoblad, who established BioNyfiken - a bio-hacking community - believes that in the future chips could also be used as health logging implants to track the pulse and body temperature and encrypt personal data.
A Kaspersky employee had a chip the size of a grain of rice encased in glass inserted into his hand (pictured). A professional piercer loaded it into a needle and pushed it into the skin between the man’s thumb and forefinger, where he explained it will move around for the first week or so and leave some bruising
 

A Kaspersky employee had a chip the size of a grain of rice encased in glass inserted into his hand (pictured). A professional piercer loaded it into a needle and pushed it into the skin between the man’s thumb and forefinger, where he explained it will move around for the first week or so and leave some bruising
Such chips (pictured) can be bought online for under £100 ($152) and intrepid users can even insert them themselves using a sizeable needle that comes with the kit, although this is not encouraged. At the moment, the chip, which uses RFID technology, has only been shown to be used to perform simple actions
 

Such chips (pictured) can be bought online for under £100 ($152) and intrepid users can even insert them themselves using a sizeable needle that comes with the kit, although this is not encouraged. At the moment, the chip, which uses RFID technology, has only been shown to be used to perform simple actions

'I see a lot of interesting developments,‘ Mr Sjoblad said.

‘We have chipped 500 people in past months, it’s a trend. There are no life-changing uses, but we want to contribute to development of this exciting technology platform, so it’s altruistic.
 

Turning the human body into a giant magnet could help electronic devices communicate with each other without burning through the battery power.

Researchers from the University of California San Diego have shown it is possible to transmit information through the human body using magnetic fields, which could allow smart watches, activity monitors and phones to communicate.

They say the technology, called magnetic field human body communication, uses just a fraction of the energy needed to send data over Bluetooth links and could also be more secure as it does not broadcast the information outside the human body.

‘We want to discover the user cases for this tech. That’s my driver.’

Dr Astrid Carolus, a psychologist at the University of Wurzburg, believes most early adopters are curious about how an implanted microchip would feel or change their lives and also want to be early adopters simply to show off.

But she believes others are scared.

'We’re not, from a psychological point of view, scared of data, but we are scared of having something in our hand that doesn’t belong there or is natural,' she explained.

Evgeny Chereshnev, who is known as Kaspersky’s 'bionic man' had a chip implanted just over six months ago and said ‘it felt weird for the first couple of weeks.

‘I was skeptical from the beginning that I could do the same with wearables, but I started to forget what it’s like to carry a badge to work, or what it’s like to open a door with a key. It’s easier.

‘I can go to the office and the gym without a membership card. I can open anything at Kaspersky with my hand. I feel this could be a way to go and has great potential.’

The team at Kaspersky is working on ways to make implants more secure, because currently they are only protected by a four-digit pin code, which can be hacked in a short time.

‘What happens when it crashes? These are things we need to think about when we’re talking about the evolution of the technology,’ Mr Preuss added.
The team at Kaspersky is working on ways to make implants more secure because currently they are only protected by a four-digit pin code, which can be hacked in a short time. The chips can replace work passes (illustrated), house keys and, in the future, even credit cards
 

The team at Kaspersky is working on ways to make implants more secure because currently they are only protected by a four-digit pin code, which can be hacked in a short time. The chips can replace work passes (illustrated), house keys and, in the future, even credit cards

Mr Chereshnev told MailOnline there is a chance the chips could one day be connected to a human’s neurological system, which raises the fear that we could be controlled by another person.

‘The technology will evolve and everything will connect eventually to the neurological system.’

‘In theory you could tap into them with a man-in-the-middle attack,’ he said, adding that in the decades ahead, quantum encryption should stop any data tampering.

So while an attack might be technically possible, he doesn’t think hackers will be able to read people’s thoughts, for example.
 

BioNyfiken is a Swedish bio-hacking community that’s gaining momentum, with some 500 people microchipped in recent months, some 70 per cent of whom are men.

They are leading the charge in normalising the chipping phenomenon and bringing it to the masses.

Their view is that having a smart sub-dermal implant is not so different from wearing an earring or having a tattoo, and that an increasing number of people will choose to have NFC-compatible implants containing an array of information.

'The technology is already happening,‘ said Hannes Sjoblad, one of the founders of BioNyfiken.

'We are seeing a fast-growing community of people experimenting with chip implants, which allow users to quickly and easily perform a variety of everyday tasks, such as allowing access to buildings, unlocking personal devices without pin codes and enabling read access to various types of stored data.
BioNyfiken is a Swedish bio-hacking community. with some 500 people microchipped in recent months, some 70 per cent of whom are men. They are leading the charge in normalising the chipping phenomenon and bringing it to the masses. The man being chipped at today's event is pictured
 

BioNyfiken is a Swedish bio-hacking community. with some 500 people microchipped in recent months, some 70 per cent of whom are men. They are leading the charge in normalising the chipping phenomenon and bringing it to the masses. The man being chipped at today's event is pictured

'I consider the take-off of this technology as another important interface-moment in the history of human-computer interaction, similar to the launches of the first windows desktop or the first touch screen.'

'Identification by touch is innately natural for humans.

'Pin codes and passwords are not natural and every additional device that we have to carry around to identify ourselves be it a key fob or a swipe card, is just another item that clutters our lives.

'That’s why we felt it was crucial to work alongside a leading security expert that really understands the technology to help us analyse the risks.

In this repsects, BioNyfiken considers Kaspersky Lab to be the ideal research partner.

Eugene Kaspersky, chairman and chief executive of Kaspersky Lab, said: 'Personally, I’d rather not be chipped.

'I do however understand that technological progress cannot be hindered and there will be innovators who are ready to accept the risk and test the limits of technology by experimenting on their own bodies.

'I’d just rather they did this with their eyes open and with security at the forefront of their minds, instead of as a retrofit after-thought, as so often occurs.'

Mr Chereshnev explained that implants could also be personalised and encrypted according to someone’s DNA and a user could make them self-destruct, or dissolve with the power of thought.

In the future, when the implants get smarter and smaller, they may require a battery and there is research going on as to whether the body’s temperature could be used to power a device.

All the experts believe it will take a while for microchipping to catch on beyond a community of hackers.

‘Right now it’s not massively ready to use technology, but it’s getting there fast,’ Mr Chereshnev said.

Dr Carobus agreed.

'If we look back, the mobile technologies we have today are quite new, so why not [embrace microchipping],' she said.

However, she thinks people need to be ‘convinced emotionally’ they are safe and are for more than simply opening doors.

‘Women and older people tend to be more afraid of the technology,’ she noted. MailChimp