US Air Force deploys robot security dogs to guard base but doesn't go full Terminator
- Reference: 1606134613
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/11/23/in_brief_security/
- Source link:
Over the past year the 325th Security Forces Squadron have been trialing the security robots via a so-called "3D Virtual Ops Center," where the hardware hounds patrol the grounds and feed back data to central command.
[1]
Click to enlarge
"These robot dogs will be used as a force multiplier for enhanced situational awareness by patrolling areas that aren’t desirable for human beings and vehicles," [2]said Major Jordan Criss, 325th Security Forces Squadron commander.
"We will be able to drive them in a virtual reality headset within our Base Defense Operations Center. We will be able to see exactly what the robot dog is detecting through its mobile camera and sensor platform if desired, we will also be able to issue verbal commands to a person or people through a radio attached to the dogs."
No offensive capability has been built into these puppies, however, they're strictly monitoring only.
Managed.com not managing
It has been a bad week for web host Managed.com after what it called a "coordinated ransomware campaign" on November 16 that led to the closure of the service.
"To ensure the integrity of our customers' data, the limited number of impacted sites were immediately taken offline," the biz told customers, according to an email seen by The Reg .
"Upon further investigation and out of an abundance of caution, we took down our entire system to ensure further customer sites were not compromised. Our Technology and Information Security teams are working diligently to eliminate the threat and restore our customers to full capacity."
The ransomware operators, [3]reportedly using [4]REvil , are asking for $500,000 for the decryption keys. They might well get it too - a [5]study this week from security shop Crowdstrike found 27 per cent of companies paid ransom demands, with payouts averaging $1.1m.
Critical Cisco flaws cripple security management
It has been a bad week for Cisco, with a host of critical flaws uncovered in some key systems.
Most [6]embarrassing is a 9.1 CVSS-scoring cock-up in Cisco Security Manager, allowing a remote, unauthenticated attacker to get in via dodgy validation of directory traversal character sequences.
More serious, however, are issues with Cisco's [7]Integrated Management Controller and [8]IoT Field Network Director (both earning a whopping 9.8 score) and a slightly [9]less serious command injection vulnerability in the networking king's DNA Spaces Connector. None of the flaws have workarounds, so it's patch or be damned.
To cap it all Webex has also had to release a trio of patches at a time when videoconferencing demand is peaking. Code errors would allow an attacker to [10]get around its authentication systems, [11]spy on a call's audio, and [12]scan pre-call meeting rooms for useful data.
Missile guidance software flies to China
Cisco isn't alone in this however. US military contractor Raytheon has seen its second serious info-leak of the year when a former employee was imprisoned for passing top intel to China.
Former electrical engineer Wei Sun, 49, was [13]sentenced to over three years in prison after pleading guilty to one felony count of violating the Arms Export Control Act (AECA).
After a decade at the firm, the engineer went to China around Christmas last year and took his work laptop with him. Details on missile guidance systems were then transferred to the Chinese government.
"Sun was a highly skilled engineer entrusted with sensitive missile technology that he knew he could not legally transfer to hostile hands," said Assistant Attorney General John Demers.
"Nevertheless, he delivered that controlled technology to China. Today's sentence should stand as a warning to others who might be tempted similarly to put the nation's security at risk." ®
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[1] https://regmedia.co.uk/2020/11/23/dog.jpg
[2] https://www.tyndall.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/2411598/computerized-canines-to-join-team-tyndall/
[3] https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/revil-ransomware-hits-managedcom-hosting-provider-500k-ransom/
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2020/11/06/revil_sodinokibi_ransomware_gang_flagship_group_housing/
[5] https://www.crowdstrike.com/blog/global-security-attitude-survey-takeaways-2020/
[6] https://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-csm-path-trav-NgeRnqgR
[7] https://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-ucs-api-rce-UXwpeDHd
[8] https://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-FND-BCK-GHkPNZ5F
[9] https://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-dna-cmd-injection-rrAYzOwc
[10] https://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-webex-auth-token-3vg57A5r
[11] https://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-webex-info-leak-PhpzB3sG
[12] https://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-webex-infodisc-4tvQzn4
[13] https://www.justice.gov/usao-az/pr/former-raytheon-engineer-sentenced-exporting-sensitive-military-related-technology-china
[14] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Thanks
> Do they byte?
Made my day!
Re: Thanks
Best punchline ever!
Re: Thanks
Do they byte?
No, but some of the code is a bit ruff!
House!
"will be used as a force multiplier for enhanced situational awareness "
I claim my bullshit bingo prize!
Re: House!
More importantly - if they are driven using a VR headset then they can't multiply the force, they can only shift it...
Re: House!
I'd like to think the VR operator is able to switch between all the robo-dogs at will as they pad around the base automatically, reducing the number of meatsack patrols.
Re: House!
Shift Left = x2, there's your multiplier.
we will also be able to issue verbal commands to a person or people through the dogs
Does the robodog give the person a choccy treat if they obey? I Think they've got the whole "who gives the orders thing" the wrong way round with this idea.
"No offensive capability has been built into these puppies"
Yeah, right. They are really going to admit that each [1]dog has a shotgun built into a leg, can fire tracking pellets, climb trees and remotely control vans .
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EcY6VDgz1M
Three years minimum seems very light in the US scale of imprisonment. Was there anything on the laptop other than his email contacts list?
> Today's sentence should stand as a warning to others who might be tempted similarly to put the nation's security at risk.
And back home in China, his extended family have received promotions at work, his parents have a nice new retirement flat and friends have all had their "social score" enhanced. And when he gets deported in just 3 years, he'll have a nice flat and a generous state pension. Clearly a major deterrent.
And as for his colleagues in the US, no doubt they're now subject to some ridiculously onerous "hand in your laptop during high days and holidays" procedure as the stable door is wedged shut with a bit of chewing gum, ready for the next time.
"Tempted .." ?
.. or he was incentivized by the chincom gov't by a reminder that he (for the time being) still has a family, and that they are still living in their flat ...
Re: "Tempted .." ?
70 years after the civil war ended there's no need for reminders, it's built in from birth that volunteering to do 'a good deed for the state' has by far the best outcome.
Burning books...
The story immediately made me think of the mechanical hound that gets sent to hunt down Guy Montag in Farenheit 451.
No offensive capability has been built into these puppies, however, they're strictly monitoring only.
...so far.
That said, why robots in the shape of dogs? Can they do anything better than a quadcopter? Or a remote-controlled car?
People are pretty much conditioned to ignore whirly-blade type drones now. But you see something even vaguely shaped like a four-legged animal coming your way, it's going to make you stop and pay attention, or possibly freak you out and get you to leave very quickly. Both of which I would imagine is the desired effect in this case.
> why robots in the shape of dogs?
Marketing talk! If you look at them, they doesn't really look like dogs, they look just as much like an antelope, or any other long-legged quadruped. Or a sofa table.
But of course "security antelope" doesn't have the same ring to it as "security dog", so "dog" it is.
As for why legs, well, it's the most efficient means of locomotion on uneven ground. (Flying is disqualified because it wastes a lot of energy even when staying motionless.)
How about security 'Gators?
We unleash the new Giraffe of Death (tm)
Re: Drones
Unless they land, they need power.
Also a robo-dog probably can be used 1/2 a day without a charge. Standing still and sending back video and audio, or shouting orders uses a lot less power than a hovering drone. Also the base is in control of the terrain.
Electronic sausages ?
You can always distract a real dog with a string of sausages. Is there something equivalent for a robo dog ?
Re: Electronic sausages ?
"You can always distract a real dog with a string of sausages. Is there something equivalent for a robo dog ?"
You could always distract them with a trail of nibbles.
Re: Electronic sausages ?
Throw him a battery?
Re: Electronic sausages ?
No, they're controlled by Secure Sausage Layer.
Re: Is there something equivalent for a robo dog ?
There is almost certainly an issue of that august journal "The Beano" which addresses this point directly. My son might even be able to say which issue, but his "filing system" means it would be tricky to be specific.
Stock photo - no offensive capabilities.
Actual - has a machine gun mounted to the top of the robot...
Prototype?
Am I the only one to notice the prototype *Agent Smith* in the background??
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