This gadget can knock drones and Google Glass offline
This gadget can knock drones and Google Glass offline
By Doug Gross, CNN
updated 10:41 AM EDT, Tue September 9, 2014
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Cyborg Unplug can remove Google Glass from Wi-Fi networks
Drones, surveillance cameras can also be targeted
Creators bill it as protection for your private Wi-Fi
But "All Out Mode" can knock devices off of all
networks
(CNN) -- Bothered by gadgets like Google Glass that can,
theoretically, be used to snoop on you in public? Then why not get your own
gadget that can knock them all offline?
That's what the creators of Cyborg Unplug promise. Billed
as a "wireless anti-surveillance system," Unplug is, essentially, a
portable router that can detect drones, surveillance cameras and mobile tech
like Glass trying to access your Wi-Fi signal and boot them off of it.
"Whether business office, restaurant, school or
nightclub: it's your territory and your rules, so make it harder for those that
seek to abuse it," Cyborg's website reads.
That's Unplug's stated purpose, anyway. But, as its
creators freely note, it also has an "All Out Mode" that would let
you knock devices off of any wireless network, not just yours.
The company says it doesn't recommend doing that because
... you know ... it's probably really, really illegal.
"We take no responsibility for the trouble you get
yourself into if you choose to deploy your Cyborg Unplug in this mode,"
the company says on its site.
The company notes that the device is not a jammer, which
blocks all digital signals in a particular area. Instead, it targets certain
devices the user has identified. So, for example, you could tell Unplug that
Glass is no bother, but drones and microphones need to be shut down. It uses
the unique hardware signature that all Wi-Fi devices have to recognize what
it's seeing before sending a "deauthentication packet" blocking
access.
To be clear, Cyborg Unplug can't stop anyone from using
mobile devices to record or photograph you. It only keeps that data from being
streamed afterward.
Cyborg Unplug was developed by Julian Oliver, an engineer
and artist from New Zealand living in Berlin.
This spring, Oliver made headlines in the tech press by
writing glasshole.sh, a Web script that can be used to find and kick Glass,
specifically, off local computer networks.
He said positive response to the program led him to
pursue making Cyborg Unplug.
Two versions will be available for $50 and $100,
available for pre-order starting September 30.
Although Glass has no more capabilities to record video
or take photos than most smartphones, the wearable gadget from Google, still
officially in its testing phase, has been targeted by privacy advocates who say
technology has made it too easy to violate privacy rights.
Cyborg says Unplug was created "in shared spirit
with" Stop the Cyborgs, a campaign that urges restaurants and other public
spaces to ban Glass and other surveillance devices.
Google did not immediately respond to a message seeking
comment.
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