Hackers Can Disable a Sniper Rifle–Or Change Its Target(wired.com)
wired.com
Hackers Can Disable a Sniper Rifle–Or Change Its Target
http://www.wired.com/2015/07/hackers-can-disable-sniper-rifleor-change-target/
4 comments
Not so moot no - what about the devices sold? What about security updates then?
Another example of security not being taken seriously. The proliferation of IoT devices could end up being a disaster if security isn't a primary consideration in their development.
Indeed, it's one of the reasons I'm neither betting on IoT being big any time soon, or engaging in it myself (heck, Heinlein had similar advice in The Moon is a Harsh Mistress in 1966).
The saving grace is as the CEO comments:
“The shooter’s got to pull the rifle’s trigger, and the shooter is responsible for making sure it’s pointed in a safe direction. It’s my responsibility to make sure my scope is pointed where my gun is pointing,” McHale says. “The fundamentals of shooting don’t change even if the gun is hacked.”
As long as you're following the Four Rules (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Cooper#Firearms_safety) at worst these hacks will brick your rifle or make you miss, but in practice they wouldn't make you hit something you're not willing to hit.
The saving grace is as the CEO comments:
“The shooter’s got to pull the rifle’s trigger, and the shooter is responsible for making sure it’s pointed in a safe direction. It’s my responsibility to make sure my scope is pointed where my gun is pointing,” McHale says. “The fundamentals of shooting don’t change even if the gun is hacked.”
As long as you're following the Four Rules (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Cooper#Firearms_safety) at worst these hacks will brick your rifle or make you miss, but in practice they wouldn't make you hit something you're not willing to hit.
That's not a saving grace at all and I'm surprised they would try to downplay this given the potential liability. It's totally reasonable that there's someone/something you ABSOLUTELY DO NOT want to hit very close to your intended target. This exploit can make you inadvertently hit that target instead of the one that you aimed for.
It's totally reasonable that there's someone/something you ABSOLUTELY DO NOT want to hit very close to your intended target.
If that's true, you don't take the shot, with rare exceptions like hostage shield situations and war, which these guns are not suitable for.
The rules exist for many reasons, including that we don't entirely trust the gun or ourselves. These guns provide additional failure modes, but the existing ones are bad enough.
If that's true, you don't take the shot, with rare exceptions like hostage shield situations and war, which these guns are not suitable for.
The rules exist for many reasons, including that we don't entirely trust the gun or ourselves. These guns provide additional failure modes, but the existing ones are bad enough.
http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2015/05/robert-farago/break... It looks like tracking point is closing up shop.
Will make a great movie..
I'm pretty sure Eraser (1996), staring Schwarzenegger, had a smart rail gun that auto-targeted hearts.
It might have even been hacked or jammed in the climax, my memory of the movie is a bit fuzzy.
It might have even been hacked or jammed in the climax, my memory of the movie is a bit fuzzy.
I don't think the guns failed, but eventually Arnold got one for each arm and shot them both from the hip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thLez2LmlKU&t=1m43s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thLez2LmlKU&t=1m43s
So, at least some of the worries of their hardware being insecure are moot.
I am well acquainted with one of the neighbors in that building.