Dropping the F-BOMB at ShmooCon

If you've read any science fiction in the last decade or so, you're surely familiar with the notion of computing motes or "smart-dust." These nanotech computing devices are envisioned to possess a variety of physical sensors, form wireless mesh networks, and generally allow the hero (or villain!) to attain omniscient and clandestine awareness of the actions of other characters.

We're not quite at the point where we can build smart-dust, but Brendan O'Connor shows just how far along we are in the journey. At ShmooCon, the annual hacker convention in Washington, O'Connor recently unveiled his F-BOMB or "Falling or Ballistically-launched Object that Makes Backdoors." The F-BOMB is a clever hack that combines a PogoPlug running custom Linux firmware, a few gigs of flash memory, an antenna, and a 3D-printed case. The end result is a rugged little spy computer that costs about $50.

The outline for Brendan's talk explains his motivation in creating the F-BOMB:

Sacrificial Computing for Land and Sky - Brendan O'Connor

Projects such as the incredible Wireless Aerial Surveillance Platform give you the ability to monitor or attack networks far from accessible areas, but are limited by their deployment characteristics: $6,000+ buys you just 10-30 minutes on target, and you have simultaneously to do your work and defend the physical plane from Bad Men With Projectile Weapons, lest they take exception to your plans. Disposable computing designed for just one use can provide massive reductions in cost and time to deployment without sacrificing flexibility; we show how $50-$75 can give you upwards of 24 hours to work on a task, while using only off-the-shelf hardware, and leaving no data onsite for an adversary to analyze after the operation. These computers can then be planted manually, or even dropped from unspecialized UAVs (such as the Parrot Drone) to allow your expensive plane to return to safety while you do your work.

Sadly, ShmooCon is over and done for this year, but you can catch Brendan's talk on YouTube:

And if you want to get in touch with Brendan directly, check out his blog or head over to the Malice Afterthought website....