*What could go wrong?
"The good news is that some of today’s most advanced technologies are cheap and easy to find, both online and on the shelves of major chain stores. That’s also the bad news, according to DARPA. The defense agency is nervous that criminals and terrorists will turn off-the-shelf products into tools and devices to harm citizens or disrupt American military operations.
"On Friday, DARPA announced a new project called “Improv” that invites technologists to propose designs for military applications or weaponry built exclusively from commercial software, open source code, and readily available materials. The program’s goal is to demonstrate how easy it is to transform everyday technology into a system or device that threatens national security.
"It may seem counterproductive for a federal defense agency to publicly encourage technicians to invent weapons that are easy to replicate. However, John Main, Improv’s program manager, says that exposing the nation’s vulnerabilities before they are laid bare in an attack is a prudent form of security.
" “I think you have to assume that potential adversaries are very smart, and if something can be figured out, it will be figured out,” he says. “We are trying to get there first.”…"
