Electronic Frontier FoundationJul 22, 2024
DHS bought a dog-like robot that it modified with an antenna array to let law enforcement overload people’s home networks to disable any “internet of things” devices, according a transcript obtained by EFF’s Dave Maass and shared with @404mediaco. https://www.404media.co/dhs-has-a-ddos-robot-to-disable-internet-of-things-booby-traps-inside-homes/
DHS Has a DoS Robot to Disable Internet of Things ‘Booby Traps’ Inside Homes

"NEO carries an onboard computer and antenna array that will allow officers the ability to create a ‘denial-of-service’ event to disable ‘Internet of Things’ devices that could potentially cause harm while entry is made."

404 Media
Show threadDan HerbertJul 22, 2024
@eff @404mediaco Wouldn't cutting power to a building be cheaper and more effective in 99% of situations than this?
Show threadLisPiJul 22, 2024
@danherbert @404mediaco @eff Unless you're poor, there's no reason not to buy refurbished high-end UPSes (potentially with extra capacity, since many of those support additional power stations).
Show threadDan HerbertJul 22, 2024
@lispi314 I guess I should have added the other traditional tactic of cutting the phone/data line going into the building as well. Battery backups might be easy to obtain, but Internet with no hard line connection is pretty uncommon.
Show threadLisPi
@danherbert So long as they're not jamming cellphones in general, adding a very-disfavored backup route over a cellphone modem option would be quite feasible.

After that it becomes more problematic and active countermeasures should be undertaken.
Jul 22, 2024 at 11:13pmWeb
Show threadDan HerbertJul 22, 2024
@lispi314 No countermeasure is 100% effective. But I've seen a lot of over-engineered solutions like this one targeted at tax payer dollars that don't need to exist.
Show threadLisPiJul 22, 2024
@danherbert Adding a USB simcard modem to your router and configuring another route in the routing table isn't exactly overengineered.

It's about as simple as you can get.

Though I suppose the government kind are probably more complicated and overpriced (like the stingrays sold for millions and buildable for a few thousand DIY as someone demonstrated at some convention iirc).
Show threadDan HerbertJul 23, 2024

@lispi314 If I wasn't clear, I'm referring to the radio jamming robot dog in the article as an over engineered waste of tax payer money.

There's an endless number of ways a bad actor could get around DHS cutting power/Internet to a home before a raid. But the same can be said about radio jamming.

Show threadLisPiJul 23, 2024
@danherbert Ah, I'd misunderstood that bit and wasn't sure if you were refering to my backup route option or not.

Indeed, that robot could just be a hand-carried tool.