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Encrypted Ammunition?

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the really-bad-ideas dept.

holy_calamity writes "A patent has been filed for bullets with built-in encryption. Pulling the trigger sends a radio signal to the cartridge in the chamber, but the charge only goes off if the right encryption key is sent. The aim is to improve civilian firearm security." Not sure I'm quite ready to trust the average techno-gadget failure rate on something like this just yet.

4 of 909 comments (clear)

  1. This could be bad by BradleyUffner · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The first thoughts that came to my head were these.
    "Can it be jammed so it doesn't fire?"
    "What happens if some random radio noise hits and and set it off?"
    "What happens if you aim enough random radio noise at say, an ammo supply room, that could potentially be bad."

  2. You know... by cayenne8 · · Score: 5, Interesting
    ...I think that with firearms, this is the ONE aread I don't think I want any technological saftey restraints on. I want to keep it mechanical. I want it to shoot immediately at what I aim at. I virus, bug or whatever that causes firing errors at the wrong time can be a life or death thing.

    That and if this type thing is installed...what would prevent the govt. from programming no weapons to fire at THEM? I'm still holding on to a sliver of hope that a well armed citizenry is a slight barrier to a completely totalitarian govt. in the future...

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    Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
  3. Re:A big waste, considering the commodity... by Odin_Tiger · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I'd speculate that the idea is going to be more along the lines of only allowing certain bullet types to be fired from certain guns by certain people. For instance, a round specially designed for military or police use could only be fired by a military / police gun, and only if the gun was being operated by a soldier / police officer. Perhaps a 2nd transmitter in a wrist band or ring on a finger, so there are 2 stages of security. Ring ID's with gun ID's with bullet. That way, in the course of an investigation, they could use standard forensics to determine that a certain bullet was fired from a certain gun, and from there have a high level of certainty that the bullet was fired by the officer assigned to that gun.

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    Unpleasantries.
  4. Re:A big waste, considering the commodity... by tehwebguy · · Score: 5, Interesting

    "And what's to keep a bank robber or other criminal to carry a small EMP generator to effectively disarm any cop whose pistol is so equipped?"

    rofl what about the other way?

    eventually we may have to worry about a criminal throwing a radio device that brute forces all the weapons in a certain radius into a secure area -- discharging every officer's weapon in the building.

    actually i'm sure this won't be possible but it would make a cool scene in an action movie..

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    -- lol pwned