[continued from previous message]   
      
   meters away—but later they actually just changed that to identifying   
   people and cars,” says Cui. "It's not specific people or specific models   
   of vehicles, but they're not even dancing around it anymore that those   
   are the categories of targets this would be used for.”   
      
   Counter-drone defense tech is still, relatively, in its infancy around   
   the world. Even vague sightings of unidentified aerial phenomena can   
   throw airports, or the state of New Jersey, into chaos. As WIRED   
   reported in December, the US Department of Homeland Security has been   
   encouraging state and local law enforcement since at least last summer   
   to assess their ability to respond to weaponized drones. In a memo, DHS   
   warned that violent extremists in the US have been looking to modify   
   “off-the-shelf” quadcopters to carry weapons, including "explosives,   
   conductive materials, and chemicals."   
      
   Red Balloon is based in New York City, and the researchers note that as   
   they were investigating drone accessories they began to realize that the   
   few options currently available for stymying malicious drones can't be   
   used in dense urban areas.   
      
   “The things that work at taking them down are machine guns, lasers, and   
   massive jammers—none of which can be used in a city,” Cui says. “This is   
   why Red Balloon has been focusing on developing techniques appropriate   
   for high-density environments to track and safely defeat these drones   
   without shooting at them or without jamming.”   
      
   Such approaches could involve targeting drones at the protocol and   
   firmware level to commandeer them and cause them to land. The   
   researchers point out that the drones' ultra-low-cost development and   
   manufacturing leaves no margin for research and development, testing, or   
   onboard security protections. This represents a vulnerability for   
   operators but could also be a benefit for defenders seeking to diffuse   
   violent attacks without collateral damage.   
      
   For now, though, the proliferation of accessories to weaponize   
   mainstream drones is a looming threat with no easy resolution.   
      
   “Somebody who designs a plan and puts it into action could do some   
   sophisticated damage for really, really cheap,” Red Ballon's Torres   
   says. "I wonder if the US military can even get defense contractors to   
   build these devices for them for the price they're selling online.”   
      
      
   You Might Also Like …   
   In your inbox: WIRED's most ambitious, future-defining stories   
      
   DOGE takeover: Elon Musk’s toxicity could spell disaster for Tesla   
      
   Big Story: A crypto crimefighter’s descent into Nigerian prison   
      
   I dated multiple AI partners at once. It got real weird   
      
   Summer Lab: Explore the future of tech with WIRED   
      
      
   Lily Hay Newman is a senior writer at WIRED focused on information   
   security, digital privacy, and hacking. She previously worked as a   
   technology reporter at Slate, and was the staff writer for Future Tense,   
   a publication and partnership between Slate, the New America Foundation,   
   and Arizona State University. Her work ... Read more   
   Senior Writer   
      
   --- SoupGate-DOS v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)