Using malicious software, hackers can gain access to your computer to steal any useful data.
Not only computers, hackers can even hack the world’s most advanced rifle by ticking it into shooting the wrong target.
Two years ago, a powerful smart sniper rifle, the $13,000 ‘TrackingPoint TP750,’ burst on to the scene. This self-aiming rifle runs on Linux and has Wi-Fi connectivity. Since then, more than a thousand rifles have been sold.
This smart rifle has a targeting system that can turn any novice into a trained sniper. You just need to assign a target, tap few buttons on the mounted computer, pull the trigger and wait. The computerized rifle will automatically fire when it’s in line for a perfect shot.
But security researchers Runa Sandvik and Michael Auger showed that they can take control of those gun-mounted computers via the rifle’s integrated Wi-Fi from as far as a mile away to change the gun’s target.
Though the husband and wife duo managed to make it miss its target, thankfully they could not remotely fire the rifle. The trigger is required to be pulled manually by its operator.
TrackingPoint founder John McHale appreciates Sandvik and Auger’s research and plans to work with them to develop a software update to patch the flaw.
