Slashdot Mirror
Hacking a 'Smart' Sniper Rifle
An anonymous reader writes: It was inevitable: as soon as we heard about computer-aimed rifles, we knew somebody would find a way to compromise their security. At the upcoming Black Hat security conference, researchers Runa Sandvik and Michael Auger will present their techniques for doing just that. "Their tricks can change variables in the scope's calculations that make the rifle inexplicably miss its target, permanently disable the scope's computer, or even prevent the gun from firing." In one demonstration they were able to tweak the rifle's ballistic calculations by making it think a piece of ammunition weighed 72 lbs instead of 0.4 ounces. After changing this value, the gun tried to automatically adjust for the weight, and shot significantly to the left. Fortunately, they couldn't find a way to make the gun fire without physically pulling the trigger.
Anyone who ever says "we are incapable of having a reasonable discussion on X" really means "everyone doesn't just accept my opinion on X as gospel, poor me".
because in Murica we are incapable of having reasonable discussion regarding guns.
"Reasonable discussion" usually just means "my ideas are reasonable, and yours aren't, and as long as you're disagreeing with my ideas, you're being unreasonable."