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DARPA Wants Ideas On Weaponizing Off-the-Shelf Tech (ieee.org)
An anonymous reader writes: The good news is that some of today's most advanced technologies are cheap and easy to find, both online and on the shelves of major chain stores. That's also the bad news, according to DARPA. The defense agency is nervous that criminals and terrorists will turn off-the-shelf products into tools and devices to harm citizens or disrupt American military operations. On Friday, DARPA announced a new project called 'Improv' that invites technologists to propose designs for military applications or weaponry built exclusively from commercial software, open source code, and readily available materials. The program's goal is to demonstrate how easy it is to transform everyday technology into a system or device that threatens national security.
See also this story about transforming into weapons items commonly found in the purportedly secure area of U.S. airports.
How about a brick? You can pick it up and throw it at someone's head.
Tried that.
Cats came to chase the laser beam and ended up eating the shark.
v2.0 will have a truck-mounted-aquarium for the shark. With laser-transparent walls. And a guy shaking a can filled with quarters to scare the cats away.
...what can be done with just a few off-the-shelf elements. The entire contents of the periodic table must be confiscated from the American public. It's the only way we can be protected from the turr'ists among us!!
A weapon doesn't have to be lethal to humans.
Here's an example: install systemd on an adversary's Linux system. If the adversary's Linux system is anything like my Debian systems were when systemd was installed on them, there's a very good chance they won't boot properly. The adversary may not be physically harmed, but the adversary sure will be angry!
Here's another example: upgrade the adversary's Firefox installation. If the adversary's Firefox experience is anything like my Firefox experience, an upgrade is nearly a guaranteed way of getting a much worse experience. The adversary may not be physically harmed, but the adversary sure will be angry!
I once worked with a guy who said that he couldn't go see "Snakes on a Plane" with me when it opened in theaters because he was afraid it was giving the terrorists ideas.
I think, in reaction, my eyes glazed over in a way reminiscent of the Blue Screen of Death.
Some people don't believe in fairies. I don't believe in The Patriarchy.
Here's my idea:
1. Walk into a gun store.
2. Take a gun off the shelf and buy it.
3. Boom, a weapon using off-the-shelf parts.
"Our two-party system is like a bowl of shit looking at itself in a mirror." - Lewis Black
Or strap a laptop or iPad to your chest and back for instant body armor.
Or a suicide vest, if it's a Dell.
Ezekiel 23:20