Debbie Purdy: Campaigner who fought tirelessly for clarification of assisted suicide laws

Obituary of Debbie Purdy in The Independent by Marcus Williamson

Jeremy Lloyd: Actor and writer who teamed up with David Croft for two comedy classics, 'Are You Being Served?' and ''Allo 'Allo!'

Obituary of Jeremy Lloyd in The Independent by Marcus Williamson

Jane Bown: Photographer who joined 'The Observer' in 1949 and was hailed for her ability to get under her subjects' skin

Obituary of Jane Bown in The Independent by Marcus Williamson

Dave West: Businessman who became a trailblazer in the booze-cruise market then expanded into PR and lap-dancing clubs

Obituary of Dave West in The Independent by Marcus Williamson

Scot Young: Entrepreneur who accumulated a vast fortune but who had claimed to be broke in a bitter legal battle with his ex-wife

Obituary of Scot Young in The Independent by Marcus Williamson

Dame Mary Glen Haig: Fencer and health administrator who competed at four Olympic Games and went on to be a member of the IOC

Obituary of Dame Mary Glen Haig in The Independent by Marcus Williamson

The Duchess of Alba: Flamboyant aristocrat, the world's most ennobled person, who scandalised Spain with her marriages to younger men

Obituary of The Duchess of Alba in The Independent by Marcus Williamson

Sonia Rolt: Grande dame of Britain's canals who worked tirelessly conserving waterways and the nation's industrial heritage

Obituary of Sonia Rolt in The Independent by Marcus Williamson

Michael Alsbury: Experienced and respected pilot who died during a test flight for Richard Branson's 'SpaceShipTwo' vessel

Obituary of Michael Alsbury in The Independent by Marcus Williamson

Warren Anderson: Chief executive of Union Carbide at the time of the catastrophic gas leak at their plant in Bhopal, India

Obituary of Warren Anderson in The Independent by Marcus Williamson

Michael Sata: Tough-talking politician who rose through the ranks to become the fifth President of the independent Zambia

Obituary of Michael Sata in The Independent by Marcus Williamson

Christophe de Margerie: Business executive who was warned against joining Total but helped make it one of the world's biggest oil producers

Obituary of Christophe de Margerie in The Independent by Marcus Williamson

Andrew Kerr, writer and festival organiser: The man who helped make Glastonbury Festival a stunning success

Obituary of Andrew Kerr in The Independent by Marcus Williamson

Sheila Tracy: Trombonist who became Britain's first woman newsreader before presenting 'Truckers Hour' and 'Big Band Special'

Obituary of Sheila Tracy in The Independent by Marcus Williamson

King Robbo: Painter who fought a spray-can battle with Banksy and who helped bring graffiti art into popular culture’s mainstream

Obituary of King Robbo in The Independent by Marcus Williamson

Robin Williams: Comedian and actor

Obituary of Robin Williams in The Independent by Marcus Williamson

Robert Halmi Sr: Prolific television producer who won more than 130 Emmy Awards

Obituary of Robert Halmi Sr in The Independent by Marcus Williamson

Patrick Woodroffe: Fantasy artist who illustrated science-fiction books and album covers

Obituary of Patrick Woodroffe in The Independent by Marcus Williamson

Ross Burden: Television presenter who began on 'Masterchef' and went on to front 'Ready Steady Cook' for the BBC

Obituary of Ross Burden in The Independent by Marcus Williamson

Karl Albrecht: Businessman who with his brother Theo established the Aldi discount supermarket chain as a global market leader

Obituary of Karl Albrecht in The Independent by Marcus Williamson

Patsy Byrne: Nursie in 'Blackadder II' who originally made her name on the stage, acclaimed by such critics as Kenneth Tynan

Obituary of Patsy Byrne in The Independent by Marcus Williamson

Eric Hill: Illustrator whose invention of the lift-the-flap book helped make his creation, Spot the Dog, a children's favourite

Obituary of Eric Hill in The Independent by Marcus Williamson

Stephen Sutton: Inspirational teenager who was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 15 and went on to raise millions for charity

Obituary of Stephen Sutton in The Independent by Marcus Williamson

HR Giger: Artist hailed for his surrealistic creatures in nightmare landscapes who won an Oscar for his work on 'Alien'

Obituary of HR Giger in The Independent by Marcus Williamson

Cornelius Gurlitt: Collector who was found to have a cache of art work worth more than a billion euros, some of it looted by the Nazis

Obituary of Cornelius Gurlitt in The Independent by Marcus Williamson

Jimmy Murakami: Director best known for his adaptations of two Raymond Briggs books, ‘The Snowman’ and ‘Where the Wind Blows’

Obituary of Jimmy Murakami in The Independent by Marcus Williamson

Raymond Weil: Businessman who founded a company which went on to become a world leader in the luxury watch industry

Obituary of Raymond Weil in The Independent by Marcus Williamson

Sue Townsend obituary: Author whose hapless, brilliantly drawn teenage hero, Adrian Mole, made her the bestselling author of the 1980s

Obituary of Sue Townsend in The Independent by Marcus Williamson

Peaches Geldof: TV presenter and writer who grew up in the celebrity spotlight as the daughter of Bob Geldof and Paula Yates

Obituary of Peaches Geldof in The Independent by Marcus Williamson

L'Wren Scott: Model who became a stylist and then an acclaimed fashion designer and was the long-term girlfriend of Mick Jagger

Obituary of L'Wren Scott in The Independent by Marcus Williamson

James Ellis: Actor best known as Bert Lynch in 'Z-Cars' credited with helping Northern Irish actors succeed on the mainland

Obituary of James Ellis in The Independent by Marcus Williamson

Ian McNaught-Davis: Mountaineer who made the first ascent of the Muztagh Tower and went on to be a computer pioneer for the BBC

Obituary of Ian McNaught-Davis in The Independent by Marcus Williamson

Professor Stuart Hall: Sociologist and pioneer in the field of cultural studies whose work explored the concept of Britishness

Obituary of Professor Stuart Hall in The Independent by Marcus Williamson

Komla Dumor: Respected and admired radio and television presenter who played a leading role in transforming the coverage of Africa

Obituary of Komla Dumor in The Independent by Marcus Williamson

Alexandra Bastedo: Co-star of the late-1960s science fiction espionage series 'The Champions' who went on to run an animal sanctuary

Obituary of Alexandra Bastedo in The Independent by Marcus Williamson

Amiri Baraka: Poet, playwright and civil rights campaigner whose work made him a central figure in the Black Arts Movement

Obituary of Amiri Baraka in The Independent by Marcus Williamson

Elite ethical hacker Barnaby Jack died of accidental drugs intoxication

Barnaby Jack, the elite ethical hacker who had demonstrated computer attacks on cash machines and heart pacemakers, died of accidental drugs intoxication, it has been revealed today.

Information received from the San Francisco coroner's office (see document below) has confirmed his cause of death as "Acute mixed drug (Heroin, Cocaine, Diphenhydraminem, Alprazolam) intoxication". The manner of death is shown as "Accident". The report is dated 28 December 2013 and shows an amendment date of 30 December 2013.

At the time of his death on 25 July last year, the New Zealand native, who was 35, had been scheduled to present a session at a conference, entitled Implantable Medical Devices: Hacking Humans. As part of the presentation he would have discussed and demonstrated the ability to remotely manipulate a heart pacemaker. The possibility of such an attack had already been demonstrated in fiction in the television series Homeland.

Apart from the drugs heroin and cocaine, the two other drugs listed are Diphenhydraminem, an antihistamine and Alprazolam (trade name Xanax), used in the treatment of anxiety.

Jack had in the past shown attacks on Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) where the machine could be made to disgorge cash on demand. He had subsequently found a fault in computerised insulin pumps which could allow them to give lethal overdoses.

His motivation throughout his work, in carrying out "ethical hacking" was to improve the security of such devices, by exposing their flaws before they could be exploited by others.

Jack worked for the company IOActive, where he was a Director.

See also: Obituary of Barnaby Jack in The Independent by Marcus Williamson (30 July 2013)

by Marcus Williamson, Freelance Journalist
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