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DARPA Funding a $50 Drone-Droppable Spy Computer
Sparrowvsrevolution writes "At the Shmoocon security conference, researcher Brendan O'Connor plans to present the F-BOMB, or Falling or Ballistically-launched Object that Makes Backdoors. Built from just the disassembled hardware in a commercially-available PogoPlug mini-computer, a few tiny antennae, eight gigabytes of flash memory and some 3D-printed plastic casing, the F-BOMB serves as 3.5"-by-4"-by-1" spy computer. With a contract from DARPA, O'Connor has designed the cheap gadgets to be spy nodes, ready to be dropped from a drone, plugged inconspicuously into a wall socket, (one model impersonates a carbon monoxide detector) thrown over a barrier, or otherwise put into irretrievable positions to quietly collect data and send it back to the owner over any available Wi-Fi network. O'Connor built his prototypes with gear that added up to just $46 each, so sacrificing one for a single use is affordable."
But what happened to using cockroaches as the spies of the future?
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I drop F-bombs all the time, at a considerably cheaper cost.
And the masses cried out, "09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0!"
They respond unfavorably to being impacted by a presidential shoe.
Which has more power: the hammer, or the anvil?
"over any available Wi-Fi network."
In cities this may not be a problem (though who runs an unencrypted Wifi AP in the city?!!?!?) but in rural areas I suspect WIFI may be hard to come by. It needs a better backup.
SJW: a person who perceives an injustice, and while correcting it, commits a greater injustice.
They have limited access cyber cafes that run a government monitored and filtered internet via a North Korean Linux distribution. Linux being used as a tool of oppression really pisses me off.
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Sure, just like it's normal to take things that drop out of the sky and plug them into the wall.
Yup, that's normal.
According to a test run by Homeland Security:
Computer disks and USB sticks were dropped in parking lots of government buildings and private contractors, and 60% of the people who picked them up plugged the devices into office computers. And if the drive or CD had an official logo on it, 90% were installed.
Borrowed from Bruce Schneier ( http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2011/06/yet_another_peo.html )
I'm a dreamer, the world is my playpen. But hey, I'm a serious person, I can't dream all the time.
Also Borrowed from the same source:
The problem is that the OS trusts random USB sticks. The problem is that the OS will automatically run a program that can install malware from a USB stick. The problem is that it isn't safe to plug a USB stick into a computer.
To which the proper response is:
The problem is the operating system you've chosen Mr. Schneier.
Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
What exactly are you imagining a "warzone" is in this day and age?
Cleveland?
Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!