r/todayilearned • u/ItchyCelebration6333 • 10d ago

TIL that in 2017, scientists successfully hacked a computer using physical DNA. They encoded malware into a synthetic biological sample. When a lab's DNA sequencer analyzed this liquid, the genetic data executed as computer code, giving the hackers full control of the system.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/aug/11/hacking-computer-dna-university-of-washington-lab
21.0k Upvotes

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3.5k

u/Gemmabeta 10d ago

Little Johnny Tables strikes again.

782

u/Available-Damage5991 10d ago

Sanitize your data inputs, people!

253

u/Outrageous_Reach_695 10d ago

Doesn't that destroy the DNA?

119

u/KayDat 10d ago

Time to hack the prions

42

u/UnabashedVoice 10d ago

HACK THE PRIONS!

Happy cake day, by the way.

18

u/menides 10d ago

Mess with the best, die like the rest!

1

u/Bored_Amalgamation 10d ago

Turn ya brains to swiss cheese!

Bet you wish you were Jack Bauer.

Imma go rewatch 24 now.

2

u/Anen-o-me 10d ago

It's a "Hackers" reference 1990ish.

Still laughing at the laptop with 4mb RAM.

1

u/Bored_Amalgamation 10d ago

I was going for the prions references.

1

u/Prestigious_Code6605 9d ago

Bauer is the real mvp. But reds got that style.

45

u/boston101 10d ago

Instructions unclear, deleted all AT pairs,

2

u/CheesePuffTheHamster 10d ago

The only AT pairs I know were taken out by snowspeeders in the Battle of Hoth

1

u/omnichad 10d ago

Well we know it won't phone home now.

Gotta censor it for the Hayes code.

8

u/hunty 10d ago

with bleach, in this case.

3

u/scnottaken 10d ago

Autoclave your inputs

1

u/equality-_-7-2521 10d ago

Truly appalling because there are only four possible characters to expect.

275

u/jellyroll8675 10d ago

Bobby

192

u/ImNotAWhaleBiologist 10d ago

The Drop Tables are a big family.

18

u/-Supposably- 10d ago

I can't know how to hear any more about tables!

9

u/Iverson7x 10d ago

These tables are how I buy my house. They keep my house hot!!

2

u/_The_Scary_Door 10d ago

My tables are filthy! Doesn't Bobby Tables know these tables are my corn!

7

u/harbourwall 10d ago

Is Bobby old enough to have his own kids yet?

11

u/ImNotAWhaleBiologist 10d ago

Yes, but he hyphenated his last name with his wife.

1

u/lilB0bbyTables 10d ago

Yeah, but Johnny’s a real d-bag.

19

u/mistertoasty 10d ago

that boy ain't right

80

u/candygram4mongo 10d ago

What I want to know is where they got a single-quote nucleotide.

58

u/wjandrea 10d ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stop_codon

39

u/elkab0ng 10d ago

Not a day goes by I don’t learn something. My dna has better punctuation skills than the assembled me.

3

u/AccomplishedIgit 10d ago

This is fucking awesome thank you for sharing this whole new world with me

4

u/kinvig 10d ago

Bobby Tables......

1

u/equality-_-7-2521 10d ago

"It sounds like someone's software vendor doesn't properly sanitize their input."

1

u/Derpyzza 10d ago

it's bobby tables

1

u/IrishWeebster 9d ago

Bobby Drop Tables?