Cybersecurity Implants: Are Augmented Humans the Next Attack Surface?
- The Cybersecurity Podcast
Imagine sitting across from someone who can unlock a door with a flick of their wrist, pay for lunch with a tap of their palm, or sense electromagnetic fields in the environment, almost like a sixth sense.
In today’s episode of the Cybersecurity Podcast by EC-Council, host Jay Bavisi speaks with Len Noe, a former black-hat hacker turned cybersecurity researcher, about a future that’s already at the doorstep—where the human body becomes part of the tech stack.
Their conversation not only challenges how we think about security, but also forces us to confront what happens when the human body itself becomes technology.
This is no longer theory; these implants exist, and people are using them. In fact, organizations may soon need to ponder what happens when an employee also becomes a device.
What are cybersecurity implants and why do they matter?
Cybersecurity implants are subdermal devices, typically RFID, NFC, or cryptographic microchips, placed under the skin. In many ways they function as key cards and authentication tokens made inseparable from the user’s body.
Len Noe currently has 11 such implants, including a tap-to-pay credit card chip and a magnet in his little finger that allows him to sense electromagnetic fields. Jay Bavisi’s initial reaction like most people is of disbelief. But as the discussion unfolds, the disbelief turns into caution when the implications start sinking in.
People don’t implant these chips out of boredom. They are pursuing convenience, sovereignty, and identity control. Instead of carrying a phone or a token, the body becomes the authenticator. Instead of memorizing a password, you simply become the password. Hacking, cloning, and losing credentials become far less likely when the device cannot fall out of your pocket onto a subway seat.
This advantage is why cybersecurity implants matter: anything that stores identity or grants access automatically becomes part of our security perimeter. Once an implant functions as a crypto wallet, an MFA token, or a physical access credential, it is technically no different from a smart card or security token. If it can unlock something, someone will eventually try to exploit it.
How cybersecurity implants expand the attack surface
Jay Bavisi put the tough question outright: Are you hackable?
Len didn’t sugarcoat it: Yes.
His implants can be scanned, spoofed, or cloned much like other credentials. The difference is that while a phone or badge can be confiscated, a person cannot be legally forced to remove or surrender a chip in their arm, as it is protected under HIPAA guidelines.
One of the most unsettling scenarios Len described starts with a simple handoff: our phones. When we hand someone our wallet, we immediately tense up; yet when we hand them our phones, we remain relaxed. With implants, Len can use NFC to trigger a malicious URL or site, slipping malware into a mobile device in as little as 18 seconds, leaving no physical trace. His warning is clear: “If you don’t trust me with your wallet, don’t trust me with your phone.” That is not paranoia, it is a reality check that everyday habits can also widen the attack surface.
These implants can turn the body itself into a persistent identifier. Imagine a corporate lobby or airport security checkpoint silently scanning for chip signatures. Add that to AI analytics and movement profiling and you have crossed into a future where simply walking into a room creates a digital footprint you never consented to. What is the worst-case, you say? Coercion. You can’t steal an implant the same way you would steal a badge, but a determined attacker could force a human to use it against their will.
Building a security strategy for a world of augmented humans
Jay Bavisi pushed the discussion into strategy, and Len’s answer was blunt: companies are not ready. Most have bring your own device (BYOD) policies, but almost none have BYO-implant policies! Yet, the first enterprise use cases are already here. Some organizations have experimented with microchipped employees for building access and payments. More will follow, not because it is the trend, but because it is cost-efficient. The human body never gets lost, stolen, or forgotten in an Uber.
To begin, organizations must first decide on a policy. Will implants be allowed? If so, who controls the credential stored inside: the employee or the employer? What happens when that employee leaves? Does HR simply “offboard” the chip, or trust that no access is still linked to it? Without clear governance, you may be exposing yourself to legal, ethical, and operational risk.
Secondly, implants must live inside a zero-trust ecosystem. A chip in someone’s hand cannot become a golden key. Treat implants as one risk signal, not a standalone identity factor. Pair them with adaptive MFA, device behavior analytics, and network conditions. If a login attempt tied to a chip originates from a suspicious location or unknown device, challenge it, block it, or escalate authentication. Implant or no implant, trust must always be earned.
Finally, there is the matter of education. Staff must understand that implants do not make someone superhuman. They make someone a mobile attack surface. Train people to guard their phones, avoid casual contact scenarios, and recognize when someone might be socially engineering their way toward access. Also include implant-based attacks in red-team drills. If a person can walk into your lobby empty-handed and still compromise a system, your defenses are missing a couple of bolts.
