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Notorious software bug was killing people 40 years ago — at least three people died after radiation doses that were 100x too strong from the buggy Therac-25 radiation therapy machine
Often cited as the world’s first lethal software bug, at least three people died between 1985 and 1987, after receiving doses of radiation that were 100x too powerful.
Its other operating mode was Megavolt X-ray therapy, where a high current electron beam could target deep tissue problems. A paper published by California Public University computer science masters student, Anne Marie Porrello, details the nature of the bug / accident across the six known cases. An experienced operator could edit treatment parameters so fast that the software skipped a safety check due to a ‘race condition’ between the input handler and the radiation beam logic.
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