Slashdot Mirror
DARPA Seeks To Secure Data With Electronics That Dissolve On Command
An anonymous reader writes "Electronic devices are built to last, which make them very reliable. However, if during a hostile situation such a device has to be left behind or gets dropped, it will continue to function and could end up giving the enemy an advantage. With that in mind, DARPA has set about creating electronics that work for as long as necessary, but can be destroyed at a moment's notice. The project is called Vanishing Programmable Resources (VAPR). Its main aim is to develop so-called transient electronics that are capable of dissolving completely, or at the very least to the point where they no longer function. Destroying a VAPR device should be as easy as sending a signal to it or placing the device within certain conditions e.g. extreme heat or cold, that triggers the rapid destruction process."
I heard Boeing has some batteries that meet these requirements.
--- Eat my sig.
"Electronic devices are built to last...." Sorry, but you just lost me, right there.
http://alternatives.rzero.com/
Nuke it from orbit, its the only way to be sure.
Looks like a flaw in the triggering code that allowed the other team to trigger the self-destruct could be a very costly mistake.
That would hand The Enemy an easy method of sabotage. All he would need to do to cripple your gear is to try to use it (like some idiot locking out your account by trying to guess the password... but in this case it's hardware and it's irreversible). Or if it's based on time elapsed since the authorized user was using it, just keep you away from it for that long. If you want the authorized user to be the one to determine when the gear should (and should not) be sacrificed, it has to be "destroy on command".
http://alternatives.rzero.com/
It's just VAPRware. Actually after I see it, it's probably VAPRware too.
Tic-Tac-Toe, Global Thermonuclear War, and relationships all have the same winning move.
Easy - Make the heart of the system an FPGA, and in the scenario of the device being lost / obtained / dropped either:
(a) Erase the FPGA prom and reset - this would cause the FPGA to lose its configuration data, and no longer function without a rebuild
or
(b) Assuming that they are using bitstream encryption, delete or burn out the key - again, the device would no longer program.
Back in the early 60s, there was still a vast amount of military electronics surplus available from WWI and the Korean wars. This cornucopia of gear was the delight of all of us young radio and electronics enthusiasts. The amateur radio press of the time warned that occasionally equipment would turn up that still had thermite scuttling charges in place - apparently some bits of gear were sensitive enough that they included thermite bombs built in that could be easily triggered when capture was imminent. I never personally saw any, but saw pictures in the journals of the time. So, anyway, this is hardly a new idea
There is no God, and Dirac is his prophet.
"Antipersonnel landmines used by the United States, with the exception of those now warehoused for use in Korea, do not have long-term residual effects because they are self-destructing and/or self-deactivating"
Reference here
Some people die at 25 and aren't buried until 75. -Benjamin Franklin
it has to be "destroy on command".
Troy? Yeah, it's me! I'm on mission, They gave us these new VAPR Pads. Yeah, Troy, they're great. Now I'm here surrounded by all these rice fields looking for the enemy. No, rice fields.... you know, paddies, Troy.
*PAD*DESTROY*
Troy? Hello? Are you there? Why's this bit come off in my hand?
----------------------------------- My Other Sig Is Hilarious -----------------------------------
Now I wish I could find a wiring web page I saw a long time ago.
Something like:
Self proclaimed typo king, and inventor of the bear destroying coffee table (patent not pending).