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Hackers Can Disable a Sniper Rifle–Or Change Its Target

32 points by chinathrow 11y ago

marcoperaza 11y ago
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.
- hga 11y ago
  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 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.
  - marcoperaza 11y ago
    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.
    - hga 11y ago
      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.
neilwillgettoit 11y ago
http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2015/05/robert-farago/breaking-tracking-point-going-bust/ http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2015/05/robert-farago/break... It looks like tracking point is closing up shop.
sjg007 11y ago
Will make a great movie..
- wmil 11y ago
  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.
  - zachrose 11y ago
    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
drivingmenuts 11y ago
Just FYI, Tracking Point is apparently out of business. Their offices are shut down and empty. 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.
- chinathrow 11y ago
  Not so moot no - what about the devices sold? What about security updates then?

32 points by chinathrow 11y ago

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.

hga 11y ago
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 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.
- marcoperaza 11y ago
  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.
  - hga 11y ago
    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.

neilwillgettoit 11y ago

http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2015/05/robert-farago/breaking-tracking-point-going-bust/ http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2015/05/robert-farago/break... It looks like tracking point is closing up shop.

sjg007 11y ago

Will make a great movie..

wmil 11y ago
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.
- zachrose 11y ago
  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

drivingmenuts 11y ago

Just FYI, Tracking Point is apparently out of business. Their offices are shut down and empty. 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.

chinathrow 11y ago
Not so moot no - what about the devices sold? What about security updates then?