> A more contemporary example might be something like headphones: as far as I know, limits on sound output are software-based, not hardware. Theoretically a hac

> A more contemporary example might be something like headphones: as far as I know, limits on sound output are software-based, not hardware. Theoretically a hacker could modify these software limits and output extremely loud sounds. Seems pretty much impossible. True, my headphones could be modified for it. In fact I once looked into the firmware of a previous model, and apparently there was 16MB RAM, 2 cores, and sqlite in there. The darn thing could run DOOM if there was a display attached. But an application doesn't get to talk Bluetooth to my headphones, it only gets to submit audio. Besides that, audio is logarithmic. If the internal amplifier can produce 2X of the software limit, that only adds 3db. Maybe annoying, but nowhere near bad enough to do serious harm.