jamming
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Anti-drone gun takes down targets from 1.2 miles away
There are numerous systems built to take down wayward or dangerous drones, but they tend to have one big catch: you need to be relatively close to the drone, which could be scary if the robotic aircraft is packing explosives. DroneShield thinks it can help. It's introducing the DroneGun, a jammer that disables drone signals (including GPS and GLONASS positioning) from as far as 1.2 miles away. Like most rivals, it doesn't destroy the target drone -- it just forces the vehicle to land or return to its starting point. Anti-drone teams can not only disable threats from a safe distance, but potentially locate their pilots.
DARPA's developing a data network that connects squadrons even when jammed
DARPA issued a Broad Agency Announcement solicitation for a new program called Dynamic Network Adaptation for Mission Optimization (DyNAMO) which aims to keep America's manned (and unmanned) combat aircraft connected even if enemy forces attempt to jam their communications. But that's not as straightforward as it sounds. US aircraft are additionally hindered by the fact that many of the platforms operate on incompatible radio networks using different encryption schemes. And while the DoD has already developed specialized data-link gateways to act as universal translators between them, the gateways' bandwidth is limited.
Marriott settles complaint that it forced convention goers to use hotel WiFi
Ever suspected that a hotel was forcing you to use its paid WiFi by making your mobile hotspot unusable? Apparently, your hunch has some grounding in reality. Marriott has paid a $600,000 fine to settle a complaint that it blocked third-party hotspots at a Nashville hotel to make convention attendees and exhibitors pay for the venue's commercial WiFi access -- not exactly cheap at $250 to $1,000 a pop. As the FCC explains, the hotel was effectively asking users to either pay twice for internet access or else risk going offline whenever they approached the convention center.
Scientists demonstrate unjammable radar based on quantum imaging
Unfortunately for those in the enemy tracking game, sophisticated aircraft-equipped anti-detection systems can outfox radar by intercepting the signal and sending back a false image, as shown above. However, researchers from the University of Rochester have figured out a technique to defeat such a jamming system that harnesses the quantum properties of light. By polarizing photons before sending them toward objects to be scanned, any attempt at modifying the returning photons caused quantum interference that was easy to detect, in the form of the very high polarization errors shown in the second false image. According to the team, such a a system could "easily be realized and integrated into modern optical ranging and imaging systems," with a little work, making it infinitely more difficult to defeat radar systems. Check the source for more "light" reading, provided that quantum mechanics doesn't break your brain.
BAE Systems' NAVSOP does positioning without GPS, makes sure the only jammin' going on is yours
Just in case GPS and GLONASS didn't make for enough of an acronym soup, BAE Systems wants to add one more to the navigation broth. NAVSOP (Navigation via Signals of Opportunity) uses some of the basic concepts we know from cell tower triangulation and WiFi location-finding to lock down a position, but goes much further to geolocate from nearly anything that pushes out a signal, such as nearby radios and TVs. It doesn't even need to know what kind of signal it's looking at, and it can get its position in places there's no GPS to work from, whether it's in an urban canyon or the natural kind. BAE is most excited about the prospects of ending GPS jamming against soldiers and UAVs, once and for all: not only is the new technology mostly impervious to attempts to block its signal, it can use the jamming attempt itself to get the position fix. Thankfully, the company's roots in defense aren't precluding use for civilians, so there's a chance that future smartphones might never have to use guesswork to get their bearings -- provided that governments around the world sign off on the idea, that is.
Researchers use children's toy to exploit security hole in feds' radios, eavesdrop on conversations
Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania have discovered a potentially major security flaw in the radios used by federal agents, as part of a new study that's sure to raise some eyebrows within the intelligence community. Computer science professor Matt Blaze and his team uncovered the vulnerability after examining a set of handheld and in-car radios used by law enforcement officials in two, undisclosed metropolitan areas. The devices, which operate on a wireless standard known as Project 25 (P25), suffer from a relatively simple design flaw, with indicators and switches that don't always make it clear whether transmissions are encrypted. And, because these missives are sent in segments, a hacker could jam an entire message by blocking just one of its pieces, without expending too much power. What's really shocking, however, is that the researchers were able to jam messages and track the location of agents using only a $30 IM Me texting device, designed for kids (pictured above). After listening in on sensitive conversations from officials at the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security, Barnes and his team have called for a "substantial top-to-bottom redesign" of the P25 system and have notified the agencies in question. The FBI has yet to comment on the study, but you can read the whole thing for yourself, at the link below.
Government report finds LightSquared's LTE interferes with GPS -- color us surprised
No one said bathing the great United States in LTE would be easy, but the hits just keep on coming for Falcone and co. Following up on reports and concerns about LightSquared's possible interference, a government study has found that the outfit's proposed broadband network does indeed impede GPS signals. According to the National PNT Engineering Forum, the federal advisory group that conducted the study, LiqhtSquared's network disrupted GPS signals for all of the devices tested in the area. The report lists OnStar, Garmin, John Deere, emergency services, the FAA, and NASA among those affected by interference. Both LightSquared and the GPS industry are scheduled to present their own tests for the FCC's consideration next week. The news isn't exactly shocking, but it certainly doesn't bode well for the ambitious LTE network.
LightSquared's LTE breaks GPS in New Mexico trial, angers John Deere
With Best Buy, Cricket, and Leap already signed on as partners, LightSquared has a lot riding on the success of its nationwide LTE network. Unfortunately, the Airforce's concerns about it interfering with GPS have been born by a test run in New Mexico. Officials in charge of the state's 911 systems as well as trucker hat kings Deere & Co. reported loss of service up to 22 miles away from LightSquared's cell tower. The company believes it has a solution to the interference problem, but hasn't specified exactly what the fix might be. Now the 4G wholesaler's future rests on a June 15th report to the FCC detailing the potential issues for both consumer navigators and the precision GPS systems used by the military and airlines -- but when even John Deere is lobbying against you things start to look a little bleak.
US Air Force raises concerns over LightSquared's LTE network messing with GPS
Following a navigation system's instructions without driving into a ravine is hard enough as it is -- can you even imagine how hard it'd be if you kept losing GPS reception every time you drove within range of an LTE tower? There have been a few anecdotal concerns raised over the last several weeks that LightSquared's proposed LTE network -- which would repurpose L-band spectrum formerly used for satellite -- is too close to the spectrum used by the Global Positioning System, leading to unintentional jamming when the towers overpower the much weaker GPS signals. Things have gotten a little more interesting, though, now that the US Air Force Space Command has officially piped in. General William Shelton has gone on record saying that "a leading GPS receiver manufacturer just ... has concluded that within 3 to 5 miles on the ground and within about 12 miles in the air GPS is jammed by those towers," calling the situation "unbelievable" and saying he's "hopeful the FCC does the right thing." Presumably, the USAF thinks that "the right thing" would involve pulling LightSquared's license, but for its part, the company says it believes Shelton is referring to a test conducted by Garmin (possibly explaining that recent outage in the Southeastern US?) using simulated interference filters -- not the actual filters that it has spent several million dollars developing and perfecting. Regardless of how effective the filters might be, the idea that the only thing standing between a functional GPS system and a constellation of space-borne paperweights is a private company's privately-developed, privately-operated filtering equipment... but then again, we love LTE. Decisions! [Thanks, Brian]
'Managed access' trial screens prison phone calls without jamming the airwaves
Yeah, we've been to this rodeo before... kind of. If you'll recall, prisons have had one heck of a time getting the Feds to sign off on a new law that would allow cellphone jamming equipment to be installed on their premises, and due to a 1934 law that allows only federal agencies to jam public airways, they've had little choice but to sit and wait. A bill is resting in the House right now that would allow pilot jamming programs to commence, but given that it's unlikely to go anywhere anytime soon, South Carolina's prison director (Jon Ozmint) is eying something else. In fact, he's already trying something else. A "managed access" trial has begun in the Palmetto State (as well as Mississippi), which routes mobile calls originating in the prison to a third-party provider that check's each number to see if it's on a whitelist; if it doesn't make the cut, the call is blocked. Jon's still pushing for jamming, but it looks as if this second-rate system may just be good enough to convince most criminals to stop trying to reach the outside world. Or at least add yet another level of frustration to their lives. [Image courtesy of Wired]
Oh, by the way: August 7, 2009
Here's some of the other stuff that happened in the wide world of mobile for Friday, August 7th, 2009: In addition to the BL40 and BL42, it looks like LG's upcoming Chocolate series is also going to include a lower-end BL20 according to a newly-uncovered user agent profile. Whatever it is, it's got a QVGA display -- a far cry from the epic 21:9 unit on the BL40. [Via PhoneArena] Motorola's W562 candybar for China has broken cover, and needless to say, you won't find any Android here. CDMA and a 2 megapixel camera, yes, but no Android. More baby steps are being taken in states' fights to jam phone signals in and around prisons. This time around, a Senate subcommittee has sent a bill to the full Senate that would allow individual states to plead their jamming case to the FCC, which -- as of right now, anyway -- seems pretty lukewarm to the idea in general. [Via Phone Scoop] Acer -- like Apple, Microsoft, Nokia, RIM, Palm, Google, LG, Samsung, and your cousin Ralph -- is opening an app store. It expects the store to be ready in the next few months as it ramps up the barrage of new WinMo devices it's been pimping over the course of the year. [Via PHONE Magazine] South Korea's KT has confirmed that it'll carry the iPhone at some point, though it's refusing to spill details on exactly when or how that'll go down. SKT's apparently still in the mix, too, so we could end up without carrier exclusivity here. [Via Unwired View]
Major nerf of ECM ships coming to EVE Online
While this can hardly be considered flavor of the month (as it would've been a *really* long month), ECM (jamming) ships in EVE Online are considered to be overpowered by many players. Ships with bonuses to ECM modules are able to prevent target lock by other ships, drastically reducing the combat effectiveness of their opposition. After all, you generally can't shoot what you can't get a target lock on, and some of these ships can jam from extremely long ranges. With this in mind, CCP Games is taking a look at ECM ships and considering redefining their roles in the EVE Online. Game designer CCP Chronotis has written in the official site's Game Development Forum about what the devs would like to do to fix ships with bonuses to ECM. In a nutshell, CCP is considering altering the ships (and ECM use in general) in terms of range. Some ships might become 'short range brawlers' while others become 'long range snipers.' Chronotis proposes specific changes to ECM ships, detailing their reworked stats as they will appear on the Singularity test server in the coming days, and invites input from the playerbase on the matter. Despite the widespread perceived need for ECM changes to be made, some of the player response to the proposed changes is critical so far. Regardless, one thing is clear -- the days of Falcon alts are numbered. Have a look at what CCP is considering doing, and let us know if you agree or disagree with these changes. [Via A Misguided Adventurer]
Prison phone jamming demo canceled, inmates promptly order more pizza
There's been a little bit of drama brewing out in DC lately, and for good reason: prisoners' ability to order pizza, drugs, and hits from the comfort of their cells is at risk. After ordering an in-prison signal blocking demo using equipment provided by infrastructure firm CellAntenna, the Washington DC Department of Corrections promptly earned the wrath of the CTIA which took its complaint to the FCC, arguing that such a demo violates the law. The FCC twiddled its thumbs (as federal agencies tend to do), so the association went to court where it sued to block CellAntenna from doing its thing. Before it had a chance to respond, though, the jail canceled its demo -- problem solved. The CTIA agrees that prisoners aren't the type of folks you want toting phones, but suggests that blocking signals from prisons altogether isn't the right way to solve the problem; if we were a guard, we'd probably agree.
Cellphone jammer crammed into key fob, ends texting / talking while driving
Face it, kids. You missed the best time to be a teenager by around five or so years. As it stands now, technology is cutting into that adolescent fun, with device like Ford's MyKey and this one here ensuring that you're actually safe behind the wheel. In all seriousness, the terribly named Key2SafeDriving is a fine concept (at least in the parent's eye), as it fuses a cellphone jammer (of sorts) into a key fob in order to put the kibosh on freeway conversations. Essentially, the signal blocking kicks into action anytime the "key" portion is flicked out, connecting to a handset via Bluetooth or RFID and forcing it into "driving mode." No actual jamming, per se, is going on; it's more like a manual override of the ringer. Anyone who phones / texts you while you're safely driving will receive an automated response informing them of such, though we are told that handsfree devices can be utilized. Researchers at the University of Utah are hoping to see it on the market within six months via a private company "at a cost of less than $50 per key plus a yet-undetermined monthly service fee."[Via Gadgets-Weblog]
Japan installs cellphone jammers near ATMs to prevent fraud
If you're tired of being scammed at ATMs by kind, gentle-hearted con artists (and then forgetting it ever happened), you'll be stoked to know that Japan is looking out for you. Chiba Bank has installed phone signal jammers at four unnamed ATMs at bank branches in the Tokyo region, and while it has gone down as the first institution to go to such lengths, we highly doubt it'll be the last. It's not entirely clear what exactly the criminals were able to convince people to do via mobile, but it's probably something like "psst... get me out some cheddar and meet around back." Not that we have any experience in the field or anything...[Via textually]
