Found this in the cyberpunk subreddit in a post from 2 years ago with people complaining that people were over-reacting and it's 'just a camera on legs that will never be weaponized'. Cue San Francisco want to weaponize one a year later, also apparently Dallas used their bomb disabling robot to kill a sniper in 2016.

Here's some totally random paperwork on Spot's network setup! https://support.bostondynamics.com/s/article/Spot-network-setup

It should be noted that some versions of spot have both 5ghz and 2.4ghz wifi but should still be vulnerable to deauth attacks. Upon losing network connection for more than a few seconds the robot should sit down and turn off the motors. However, they do make an LTE capable version. :this-is-fine:

  • Avanash [they/them]
    ·
    2 years ago

    If it’s internet connected you can hack it and commandeer it. If it has an LTE modem in it, its location will be traceable by authorities at all times.

    Alternately, throw some sand on it. Those joints were developed in relatively sterile conditions and are exposed. The underlying components are too fine to function with a bunch of sand in their joints.

    • blobjim [he/him]
      ·
      2 years ago

      you can hack it and commandeer it.

      this isn't a movie lol. Someone developing it would have to actively make it insecure for it to be "commandeer-able".

      • Avanash [they/them]
        ·
        2 years ago

        Not true at all. The vast majority of security vulnerabilities were bugs, not features. It’s possible to make most cars remote control nowadays. The security research is slow moving because of how expensive cars are, but literally everything with a computer in it is hackable somehow.

        • NuraShiny [any]
          ·
          2 years ago

          This is true, but the sequence of 'robot appears and is a threat, so I on the fly hacked it' isn't realistic. Firstly do you usually bring a computer to a demonstration? People aren't even supposed to have their phones on or they will be tracked. Secondly, you'd need to have spent time figuring out what vulnerabilities there are and how to exploit them beforehand and these fuckers ain't cheap or widespread enough for easy access yet.

          That said, it also isn't realistic that these robots will get used as is, with easily accessed buttons that lock out their movement, or battery packs you can simply remove.

          • Avanash [they/them]
            ·
            2 years ago

            Oh yeah, I didn’t mean that people would improvise an exploit on the spot. I’ve been in groups that have tracked the specific models of equipment used by local cops and would track public exploits for them. Yielded some neat results a few times, particularly one with an IMSI catcher.

            • NuraShiny [any]
              ·
              2 years ago

              Yea that makes more sense, thanks for clarifying.