It may sound like something out of the next sci-fi thriller, but it appears humans and computers are now merging after a British scientist became the world’s first person to be infected with a computer virus.
TIME’s Tara Kelly has more on a scary science story …
With a quick operation, Dr. Mark Gasson purposefully had an infected computer chip implanted into his hand. Not only is the chip programmed to open security doors to his lab with the wave of his hand, but it also ensures only he is able to switch his cell phone on and off.
Although the virus on his chip is benign, if it were a malicious computer code it could give the likes of criminals access to a building. “Once the system is infected, anybody accessing the building with their passcard would be infected too,” the scientist warned. Gasson also noted that the chips, which are routinely implanted in patients for heart pacemakers, are quite vulnerable too.
So from fending off break-ins to keeping your heart from stopping, it seems that the security inside chips need to be taken more seriously. For more, watch the video.