Encrypted Ammunition?

holy_calamity writes "A patent has been filed for bullets with built-in encryption. Pulling the trigger sends a radio signal to the cartridge in the chamber, but the charge only goes off if the right encryption key is sent. The aim is to improve civilian firearm security." Not sure I'm quite ready to trust the average techno-gadget failure rate on something like this just yet.

OB Good Old Boy joke

[rueger]

The final words of many a young gun owner "Hey, watch this!"

Interesting.

[Vo0k]

Do I have to enter an unique 8-digit pincode on the numpad everytime I want to shot too?

Imagine the possibilities...

[BigZaphod]

... for a lawyer after the bullet either A) doesn't work when it is supposed to in a life or death situation or, B) ends up working just fine even in a gun that wasn't authorized for it. Our society just keeps finding more and more interesting ways to keep lawyers employed!

Coming Soon!!!

[JL-b8]

DIY Linux server on a Saw'd off!

Guns don't kill people...

[Billosaur]

...but hackers who hack bullets do!

Did the receptor of the bullet

[denisbergeron]

have to provide a secure key to be hit by the bullet ?

Two great tastes that taste great together!

[Tackhead]

"When crypto is outlawed, bayl bhgynjf jvyy unir thaf!"
"Huh? You cypherpunks got your first amendment in my second amendment!"

"Jura thaf ner bhgynjrq, only outlaws will have crypto!"
"And you gun nuts got your second amendment in my first amendment!"

Two great tastes that taste great together...

Get Tough on Crime

[joebok]

Since locking people up for violent crimes isn't solving the problem, I guess that a better approach would be to reclassify things like armed robbery and murder as DMCA violations - then we'd have the full weight of the RIAA on our side for a change...

Re: Bullet encryption

[cmdr_beeftaco]

Does this mean that the NSA will be able to automatically fire my guns? Don't get me wrong, I like that idea, I just want to know ahead of time.

Chris Rock is happy

[ndansmith]

Someone finally made a bullet that costs $5,000.

Are you sure?

[saphena]

Surely all that would be needed is a simple dialog box with [Yes] [No] and [Cancel] buttons over the question "Are you sure?", perhaps with a little warning about how dangerous guns are, every time the trigger is pulled.

With a larger screen and maybe a soundcard, it could popup a paperclip asking "I think you're trying to kill someone, would you like some help?"

Chuck Norris

[neonprimetime]

Can you imagine Chuck Norris diving behind a car, punching in his 8 digit pincode, standing up and firing ... ducking back down, punching the 8 digit pincode, then standing up and firing again?

Re:A big waste, considering the commodity...

[1992 Called]

"where you take a spent cartridge, measure it for stretch and stability, then replace primer, powder, and bullet."

Is there a budgie in here? All I hear is Cheap! Cheap! Cheap!

;)

Re:A big waste, considering the commodity...

[pilgrim23]

A whole new meaning to the Blue Screen fo Death....

Re:It's becomming obligatory

[Rob T Firefly]

Just let me shoot my gun.

You might find it easier to shoot something that isn't your gun, with your gun. Otherwise it's like trying to touch your left elbow with your left hand.

Fixes the wrong problem

[DG]

Statistically, the gun most likely to shoot you is the one you own/carry, so there is some value in some sort of authentication mechanism in a firearm.

But putting the mechanism into the ammunition is the wrong way to go about this. The fire/no fire algorithm should be in the weapon itself, such that it is inert unless an authorized user is holding it. I can imagine a simple mechanism that simultaniously blocks the firing pin and locks the slide (can't fire, can't even load) unless the proper user is holding it.

How THAT mechanism works... wow, that's not a simple problem. It has to be automatic and take no operator action to enable. Maybe something like an embedded RFID tag would work.. but those can be spoofed... this is not an easy fix.

What would be a good idea though would be a mechanism whereby some sort of write-once memory device was implanted in the BULLET, and the act of firing the round wrote the user's ID to the bullet for later retrieval (assuming the memory survived the impact). This isn't a universal panacea, and it too can be spoofed, and it is impossible to retrofit to existing guns - but I like the idea that bullets carry the ID of the shooter in them.

DG

Re: Bullet encryption

[MillionthMonkey]

No, it means you have to publish your public key and make it available to the game you shoot.
Just print it out base-64 encoded and nail it to trees in the area so that the deer can be sure that it's you shooting them and not someone else.

Techno-Gadget Failure Rate

[Anonymous Coward]

I like how the phrase "Techno-Gadget Failure Rate" was used in this post. So full of implication. That said, I would *not* be anxious to use any technology produced by the poster!

Re:i can see it now

[aevan]

"It looks like you're trying to shoot someone in the chest.

Would you like me to:
Fire a bullet
Order more bullets
Call 911
Suggest better body parts to shoot?

[]Don't show me this tip again"

Hmm..you know, it actually might cut down on gun crime afterall...

Re:Guns.

[RockModeNick]

You must not listen to gagsta rap, the only thing they talk about MORE than capping someone that talks shit is chronic.

Re:Chuck Norris

[orasio]

Chuck Norris would roundhouse-kick the gun, and it would fire the full charge at once, killing all the bad guys.

Re:Guns.

[RockModeNick]

NY is safe and polite because everyone assumes anyone else might just be psycho and dangerous, gun or no damn gun.

Re:A big waste, considering the commodity...

[Anonymous Coward]

It also comes in red :)

Re:Chuck Norris

[Anonymous Coward]

Chuck Norris only uses firearms to warn criminals that a Chuck Norris roundhouse kick to the face is imminent. This is required by the Geneva Conventions.

Re:A big waste, considering the commodity...

[Anonymous Coward]

>I'd speculate that the idea is going to be more along the lines of only allowing certain bullet types to be fired from certain guns by certain people.

Just what we need... DRM'ed bullets. We need FOSS firearms.

Re:It's becomming obligatory

[Khaed]

Those of us born without bones find this post offensive!

Don't ask how I type without bones. You really don't want to know.

I know what you're thinking.......

[Anonymous Coward]

"I know what you're thinking. Did he fire KeyID 0xABCD005 or 0xABCD006. Well to tell you the truth in all this excitement I've kinda lost track myself. But being this is a .44 Magnum/RSA - the most powerful hand gun in the world and would blow your head clean off, you've got to ask yourself one question--Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya punk!"

With apologies to Clint Eastwood.

 

Re: Bullet encryption

[Walt Dismal]

Apple's new iGun provides safe, encrypted personal security. The stylish clip holds 9 cartridges and over 400 songs. Be the first to sit at Starbucks ostentatiously sipping an overpriced cup of burned crud flavored to hide the real taste, while impressing babes with your RFID-marked ammunition. Oooh yeah. I want this bad. (consumerly shiver twitch)

Re:Are you sure?

[CosmeticLobotamy]

With a larger screen and maybe a soundcard, it could popup a paperclip asking "I think you're trying to kill someone, would you like some help?"

MS should get on that. People would really start to love Clippy if he could lay down suppressing fire.

Re:This could be bad

[jacksonj04]

You join the rest of the civilised world?

Re: Bullet encryption

[cosmicj]

This gives a whole new meaning to bullet-proof encryption.

Dear Slashdot posters

[TrappedByMyself]

carry a small EMP generator

Dear Slashdot posters,
It is not necessary to force an EMP reference into every single post which mentions the operation of electronic devices.

Thank you,
Concerned Citizen

DRM

[gutnor]

Your hunting pistol needs a permanent internet connection. For free shooting, stay within 100 meters of a participating McDonald or Starbuck coffee.

Re: Bullet encryption

[jazman_777]

Is the bullet silver?

Re: Bullet encryption

[mkosmul]

No wireless. Less space than a nomad. Lame.

Re:Please be honest:

[ScentCone]

Unlike you, I had a decent upbringing.

Yeah, all that time with parents who are teachers, or that have doctorates in things like hospital administration and whatnot is pretty much like growing up in a trailer in the Ozarks. I can see how you'd draw that conclusion.

See, while you were busy pulling legs off spiders, I was learning things, vacationing in europe, learning languages- improving myself, and giving myself a better shot in life.

Huh, how about that! Vacationing in Europe! Why, it's a good thing there aren't any long standing traditions of hunting in Germany, or France, or Italy, or Russia! I'm sure you learned more about biology and meteorology hanging out in an effite coffee bar in Prague than I have actually out in the weather or interacting with animals in all sorts of terrains and climates.

Shoot, if I can finish picking my teeth with this here Bowie knife, maybe I can remember where I put my wife, who was born in Germany, and watched parts of the Cold War unfold in front of her as a child living in Vienna. Or maybe I can recall where we put that bottle of wine our dear Romanian friends just dropped off. Or remember where we put the nice pictures we took while we traveled in Greece, or Italy, or Turkey, or Crete. Nah... I'm too stunted by my exposure to a high school full of kids from diplomatic families all around DC, or my neighbors from Cameroon, or the kids from Peru we grew up with. My sheer ignorance and sheltered hillbilly upbringing probably explains that Chinese/Pakistani girlfriend in high school, too.

I wanted something more than camouflage fatigues and drunk, sub-literate "buddies."

Hmmm... I see more drunk, sub-literate idiots wearing fashionable camo stumbling around most liberal arts campuses than I do in any of my social circles.

you should have spent more time at what I like to call the "book range," or the "reading range."

Perhaps we should compare reading lists? You obviously haven't gotten over your infatuation with sophistry and childish, low-brow sarcasm, so I can limit my list to stuff I finished in 8th grade, if that will make you feel better. Not to worry, though, the next Harry Potter isn't too far off, and if the words are too big, there's always the movies, and no-one will see your lips moving that way. Versuchen Sie, sich beim Schreiben nicht zu verletzen, Sie arroganter Esel.

Re: Bullet encryption

[Anonymous Coward]

What about quantum encryption? As soon as they read your key, they're no longer sure it's you shooting at them...

Re:Please be honest:

[loraksus]

Hehe, in Poland, I saw a sign that translated to "My dog can make it to the front gate in 2 seconds, what about you?" My dog likes lasers so much that I'm pretty sure I don't need any ammo, just paint the bad guy with the laser and he pounces ;)

Re: Bullet encryption

[badmammajamma]

Wait, the iGun is obsolete. Introducing the iGun Pequeña. We're very excited about this. It's a quarter the size of the original and holds 100 cartidges and can fire 1,000,000 rounds before running out of ammo.

Re:A big waste, considering the commodity...

[budgenator]

sure we're going to put a radio reciever and cable to connect it to a 1.3 GHz celeron processor to decrypt the firing signal into a 9mm bullet, then fill the remaining space up with molten lead at 900 F; yeah that outa work. I think their idea of encryption will prove to be a lot looser than ours.

You know this reminds me of a story, now this is no bullshit; years ago, photographer's didn't use electronic stobes, they used flash bulbs, these bulbs were made out of lacquered glass and contained a quantity of magnesium wool. When an electrical current flowed tru, the magnesium flashed a brilliant white light. Well a fair quantity of these flash bulbs were in a particular MP's car along with other crime scene evidence tools, and a fancy new X-band speed radar. This MP got into the habit of sitting at the bottom of the hill to our HAWK Missile TAC site and pass out tickets for going 25 MPH in a 15MPH zone! This tended to irritate the lads so one day it was decided to put the alignment scope on the High Powered Illuminating Radar, and to put the scope's crosswhairs on the MP car. After a good warm-up in standyby, the radiate button was punched as our group chuckled in anticipation, as a couple KW of microwaves at a frequency not too distant for the speed radar surged out of the HiPIR's klystron, through the waveguides and bounced off the parabolic refector pointed at the MP car, which immediately lit up like an atom bomb as all the flash bulbs went off. Somebody yelled "TURN IT OFF OH MY GOD WE'RE GOING TO KILL HIM, as the MP got out of his car and stared at the smokeing ruin that used to be a traffic radar.

I guess the moral of the story is that if you pump enough RF into things that were not designed for that much power weird shit happens, and if your lucky it'll make a funny story instead of a tragety and I'll probably be happier if my bullets weren't RF sensitive.

Re: Bullet encryption

[DiarrhoeaChaChaCha]

Seems to me the packet loss would be unacceptable.

Re:DRM

[stunt_penguin]

Just so long as we get ammunition neutrality, then the bullet travels just as fast towards all targets, regardless of the intent of the shooter, instead of just plopping out the end of the barrell when your Microsoft(TM) gun is aimed at an MS employee, and launching a high veloceity HE round at Google employees.

Re: Bullet encryption

[TenLow]

As seen in Rambo I and III.

Re: Bullet encryption

[werewolf1031]

You changed the target by shooting it!

er, wait...