This week saw some pretty interesting news items in the Technology World, Amazon’s delivery drones and sound wave malware.
Although I understand the need (perceived?) for instant, personalized delivery, I cannot imagine a government less inclined towards a technological idea than the United States Government. What is Amazon thinking? The implications are mind-boggling, to say the least, as there are so may things that could go wrong: Drone hijacking, bombs, crashing, shot from the sky and so forth. As http://www.bgr.com states: “Amazon just wanted to get good press ahead of the holiday shopping season.” and ‘customer reaction’. Color me unconvinced.
The other news this week was Malware is now able to travle via sound waves, per another http://www.bgr.com report. Per the article, “Computer scientists have developed an audio malware prototype that’s capable of establishing communication between devices that do not have an active network connection, Ars Technica reports. Instead, the lab-created malware uses the built-in microphones and speakers to send out a high-frequency signal from an infected computer to a different source.” http://bgr.com/2013/12/03/amazon-delivery-drone-analysis/
Here’s a bit from the researchers:
The researchers developed several ways to use inaudible sounds to transmit data between two Lenovo T400 laptops using only their built-in microphones and speakers. The most effective technique relied on software originally developed to acoustically transmit data under water. Created by the Research Department for Underwater Acoustics and Geophysics in Germany, the so-called adaptive communication system (ACS) modem was able to transmit data between laptops as much as 19.7 meters (64.6 feet) apart. By chaining additional devices that pick up the signal and repeat it to other nearby devices, the mesh network can overcome much greater distances. http://arstechnica.com/security/2013/12/scientist-developed-malware-covertly-jumps-air-gaps-using-inaudible-sound/
Brick ONeil 
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