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Hacking A $1500 'Smart Gun' With $15 Magnets

This topic can be found at:
https://sigforum.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/320601935/m/3990090824

July 31, 2017, 08:47 AM
matai
Hacking A $1500 'Smart Gun' With $15 Magnets
http://thehackernews.com/2017/...art-gun-hacking.html

I think we should stop going crazy over the smart things unless it's secure enough to be called SMART—from a toaster, security cameras, and routers to the computers and cars—everything is hackable.
But the worst part comes in when these techs just require some cheap and easily available kinds of stuff to get compromised.
Want example? It took just cheap magnets purchased from Amazon online store for a security researcher to unlock a "smart" gun that only its owner can fire.
The German manufacturer of the Armatix IP1 "smart" gun which claimed the weapon would 'usher in a new era of gun safety' as the gun would only fire by its owners who are wearing an accompanying smartwatch.
However, for the first time, a skilled hacker and security researcher who goes by the pseudonym "Plore" found multiple ways to defeat the security of Armatix GmbH Smart System and its $1,400 smart gun.
According to a detailed report by Wired, the smart idea behind the Armatix IP1 is that the gun will only fire if it is close to the smartwatch, and won't beyond a few inches of distance from the watch.
However, Plore found three ways to hack into the Armatix IP1 smart gun, and even demonstrated (the video is given below) that he could make the smart gun fire without the security smartwatch anywhere near it.
Smart Gun Hacking Demonstrated:
Plore placed $15 magnets near the barrel of the gun, doing this made him bypass the security watch, thereby defeating the Armatix IP1’s the electromagnetic locking system altogether.
"I almost didn't believe it had actually worked. I had to fire it again," the researcher said. "And that's how I found out for $15 (£11.50) of materials you can defeat the security of this $1,500 (£1,150) smart gun."
Plore was also able to jam the radio frequency band (916.5Mhz) of the gun from ten feet away using a $20 (£15) transmitter device that emits radio waves, preventing the owner from firing the gun even when the watch is present.
The researcher was also able to hack the gun's radio-based safety mechanism by using a custom-built $20 RF amplifier to extend the range of the watch.
When the owner squeezes the trigger, the gun sends out a signal to check whether the watch is there or not.
But the researcher was able to intercept the signal using a radio device, which acts as a relay that could extend the range by up to 12 feet, meaning somebody else other than the owner could be wearing the watch, defeating its fundamental security feature.
Plore believes that if smart guns are going to become a reality soon, they will need to be smarter than this one.
July 31, 2017, 09:53 AM
Palm
It seems to me that smart guns are only a good idea to people who don't know enough about guns or technology.

Any maker that wants to develop a smart gun and take their chances in the free market is fine by me.

Legislation mandating their development or use is not.
July 31, 2017, 09:58 AM
BBMW
Correct me if I'm wrong, but if you take the grips off, and rip out the solenoid mechanism that locks the trigger, the gun isn't so smart any more.
July 31, 2017, 01:26 PM
snidera
quote:
Originally posted by BBMW:
Correct me if I'm wrong, but if you take the grips off, and rip out the solenoid mechanism that locks the trigger, the gun isn't so smart any more.

even simplier - it just uses a firing pin/striker block that is pulled out of the way by an electro magnet. Either remove the block, or replace the electromagnet with a neodymium magnet & blast away.
Nothing like having a single point of failure that can fuck you 2 ways.
July 31, 2017, 09:18 PM
Fenris
But hacking a smart gun would doubtless violate the end user licensing agreement, which no criminal would ever do, 'cuz that would be wrong.




The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt. People again must learn to work, instead of living on public assistance. ~ Cicero 55 BC

The Dhimocrats love America like ticks love a hound.
July 31, 2017, 10:04 PM
Icabod
Seems the gun works as a conventional weapon. Then there's the question of reliability.

https://www.americas1stfreedom...mart-about-this-gun/



“ The work of destruction is quick, easy and exhilarating; the work of creation is slow, laborious and dull.
July 31, 2017, 10:19 PM
egregore
A magnet pulling a block out of the way to allow the mechanism to work? This is (or was; I don't know if it is still in production) a "Magna Trigger" for Smith & Wesson revolvers.