Hacker Barnaby Jack Died of Drug Overdose

DrDevil writes "Barnaby Jack, the computer security expert who died mysteriously a few days before he was due to give a presentation on hacking pacemakers at last year's Black Hat, died of a drug overdose. The coroner initially withheld the report, which led to much speculation given the timing of his death. Mr. Jack appears to have taken a cocktail of drugs (PDF) and was found dead by his girlfriend. His girlfriend stated that he had used drugs regularly."

Re:Hackers are the new Rock Stars

[Pharmboy]

No, hackers are just like anyone else and this proves it. People overdose all the time, they just don't make the front page of Slashdot.

You mean it wasn't a conspiracy ?

[Rosco P. Coltrane]

Slashdot is really letting itself go, when posts describing the mundane reality take precedence over a good conspiracy story.

Or could it be that the coroner was bought by the peacemaker manufacturing lobby to give that statement? Hmm...

Re:You mean it wasn't a conspiracy ?

[mcgrew]

It's easy to get away with murdering a drug user. Even if the guy's a speed freak and he dies of a barbiturate overdose, it's automatically an accident.

Re:Bad things

[mikeabbott420]

Legal drugs aren't made in jungles or unsanitary conditions regardless of any intoxicating property. This is actually one of the arguments for legalizing recreational drugs, e.g. people buying weed in Colorado are far less likely to buy weed that has been sprayed with toxic chemicals like pesticides.

Re:Bad things

[onyxruby]

The legalizing it trend is about far more than marijuana and it always has been. Don't fool yourself.

Re:Hackers are the new Rock Stars

[Mr.CRC]

If this was an OD due to illegal drugs, then it's likely that it wouldn't have occurred if the drugs were simply legal. You cannot "know your dose" with illegal drugs because you: 1. don't know what drug it really is at all; 2. don't know the concentration or purity. The best way to reduce ODs would be to legalize everything, then all the info on how to dose and minimize adverse health consequences could be kept out in the open.

Re:Hackers are the new Rock Stars

[Anonymous Coward]

Fear of pot makes you stupid.

Re:Hackers are the new Rock Stars

[Anonymous Coward]

He combined heroin with Xanax and an antihistamine. That is a pretty reckless combination. Sure, it's possible that the heroin was uncharacteristically pure.

Nevertheless, if you combine three depressant drugs (two of them quite strong), you're always risking an overdose. You can't really blame this one on prohibition.

Re:Hackers are the new Rock Stars

[Oligonicella]

I have known a number of druggies, some on various hard stuffs. No. They would still OD. People still huff, knowing full well it coats your lungs. People still sniff gasoline, knowing full well it destroys your brain. These are two completely legal substances. No. People would still be stupid. You can't bypass stupid with a label.

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Re:Hackers are the new Rock Stars

[Anonymous Coward]

I suppose it's easier to damn these "druggies" that you've known than to have the uncomfortable thought that perhaps they were sniffing gasoline or huffing paint thinner due to the fact that they were, in fact, the only legal drugs to which they had easy access. Yes, those damn druggies, never mind that had they had legal access to properly dosed drugs and a safe environment, they wouldn't have been sniffing gasoline or huffing paint thinner.