Category Archives: Security

Security

US Electronic Warfare in Libya

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The US military reports that overnight the Africa Command task force commenced electronic warfare during Operation Odyssey Dawn to help achieve U.N. Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1973 and protect Libyan civilians from their government.

The [U.S. Navy EA-18G] Growlers [a variant of the F/A-18F] provided electronic warfare support over Libya while Harriers from the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) conducted strikes against Muammar Gaddafi’s ground forces and air defenses, joining an international effort to halt an offensive against the Libyan populace.Growler

This is part of a new tactical aviation fleet generation, which is more inter-operable and faster to produce; Growlers replace the Navy’s EA-6B Prowlers electronic attack aircraft.

“Its pilots and crews will employ Growler’s systems not just to jam signals,” said [Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. Mike Mullen], “but to control all aspects of the electromagnetic spectrum to protect our troops and engage our enemies.”

In other words, for this operation, while 100s of cruise missile strikes degraded Libya’s defensive capabilities the Growlers suppress residual risk of SAM threats to the coalition bombers. America is the only NATO member with tactical jamming support capability.

No news yet of any U.N.-coalition cyberwarfare to take out critical infrastructure and weaken the Colonel’s Army or even defacement of official Libyan media sites to post pro-civilian messages. I am certain Gaddafi’s email inbox right about now is overflowing with attachments.

The Navy also has released a video. It seems to be very underexposed; or maybe that’s to emphasize electronic warfare capability — everyone outside the attack team is left in the dark.

U.S. Marine Corps AV/-8B Harrier jets launch from the flight deck of the amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) in preparation for Operation Odyssey Dawn missions. Later, an SH-60 Sea hawk helicopter, CH-53E Super Stallion, MV-22 Osprey and U.S. Marine Corps AV/-8B Harrier jets land on the flight deck of the amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) following Operation Odyssey Dawn missions.

Davi

Energy, Security

$3K electric Cloud car with 200 mile range

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EcoModder tells of a hobbyist named Dave Cloud in the US who set himself a challenge: build an electric car for less than $3K that will go more than 200 miles on a charge. The base platform is a 1997 Geo.

The Dolphin was put together for a miserly $3,000, but can do impressive things for the meager amount of money that was used to create it. Running on used batteries, the car managed a 70mph top speed and overall range of upwards of 80 miles, despite the fact that curb weight is well over 3000 pounds.

Imagine the results if the car manufacturers or others donated a 2011 platform (or even a diesel-electric hybrid concept from 2005) and held a competition among hobbyists. Is that too pie-in-the-sky? Disclaimer: I love pie. Dave’s explanation of his limitations are quoted by EcoModder:

…my goal was to build a vehicle that can go 200 miles on a single charge with a speed of 60-65 mph for 85% of the miles, for under $3,000. I accomplished this goal. Because of my $3,000 limitation I made a lot of compromises in the chassis design hoping that the aerodynamics of the vehicle would make up for those inefficiencies. Inefficiencies such as front wheel bearings that rumble, back tires that are 10 years old and misshapen, single speed dual series motors (that were $100), no re-gen and inexpensive Curtis controllers.

I have watched vehicle automation contests, solar vehicle contests (which have produced Dolphin-looking cars)…is there a hypermile or mile-per-charge contest? I also have watched government leaders try to make a stupid parody out of innovation in automobile efficiency (golf carts never should have been allowed to count as a manufacturer’s low-emission “fleet” vehicle — it was a clever legal loophole exploited by GM but if it can’t safely travel over 65mph…bzzzzt, next).

Dolphin 200 mile Electric Vehicle

This reminds me of two things. One, the muscle cars that many are buying today are big-box industrialized interpretations of hobbyist vehicles at the race track from the late 1960s. I would say 70s, but they fell way out of fashion by the late 70s because efficiency became the hobbyist market objective in the oil crisis (efficiency didn’t leave in the 1980s, but the big car manufacturers lost interest when OPEC partners started to fight and undercut each other). Second, the MP3 players in practically every stereo today are an industrialized interpretation of hobbyist stereos in the late 1990s (e.g. big kudos to the original MP3 Miata with a PC in the trunk).

Comparison of these two hobbyist movements can help predict innovation cycles and answer the question: when can I buy a Dolphin?

The cost of materials in a car has typically been the impediment to more competition, as well as safety regulations. Who can afford to ship iron and forge it into a chassis or axle, for example, other than a Ford or GM? This hurdle is overcome by hobbyists through reclamation of old vehicles. It also is overcome by lighter, stronger and more easily managed technology like carbon fiber or fiberglass or plastic. The electronics industry, on the other hand, is far more open to competition because sourcing the material is far less expensive and Moore’s law seems to always find a way in.

The adoption cycle of efficient electric vehicles thus could now be more like the MP3 than the muscle car and we will see a commercial attempt to market the Dolphin within ten years instead of thirty.

Some might say VW, with plans to overtake Toyota in total sales, is already on the right path with a sleek-looking 261 mpg diesel-electric hybrid at car shows.

VW XL1 FTW

Yes that looks like a 1992 Subaru SVX. Oh Subaru, I remember when you were actually cool for being the outsider in America with inexpensive all-wheel-drive and high mpg.

Subaru SVX

…or a Ford Probe, or a Honda Insight. Car manufacturers have certainly tested the water with efficiency and aerodynamic designs (and there are other 200 mile range electrics for more money) but I hope the Dolphin $3K challenge inspires home hackers and hobbyists as they are the ones most likely to innovate without fear of losing a few Escalade or Expedition sales.

Davi

Energy, History, Security

The Risk of Radiation Dosage, Illustrated

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xkcd has a dry wit and usually a good sense of how to fit humor with technology. The radiation dose chart on the site is a great idea but it lacks cartooning and jokes. Is that because of sensitivity, fear and feelings associated with radiation exposure?

He points out, for example, that a CRT over one year will expose you to more radiation than an x-ray of your arm. Maybe I should put that the other way around. It’s kind of funny.

The giant green box area on the right side of his chart is the maximum annual dose allowed a radiation worker, while the itty bitty green box to the left of it is the maximum external dose from Three Mile Island. Wow, assuming his boxes are accurate, good illustration on risk.

xkcd Radiation Dose Chart

The BBC offers a more dramatic version. They list the levels in numeric format, but the chart gives a very “red” heavy impression of exposure. I noted in their chart that the annual dose level allowed a radiation worker has been reduced by more than half. This suggests that these charts are not an accurate representation of known risk — they are an estimation still subject to change.

Radiation Dose Level Risk

Of course photos of radiation victims probably have the most profound effect on our risk thermostat, as they tend to give us a sense of accurate representation (7 million affected by Chernobyl fallout, half of them children instead of just the 50 officially recorded).

Security

SF Plague of Auto Window Smashing

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SFPDCaptain Richard Corriea of the San Francisco Police Department has a twitter account where you can watch the report flow of smashed auto windows.

3/18 11PM and 3/19 @1:00AM at the Beach Chalet parking lot-window smash auto burglary of a Ford Explorer. Loss: Computer.

3/18 btwn 1230 & 200 PM-1000 blk Pt. Lobos-window smash auto burglary on Ford Escape. Loss: Laptop computer.

03/18, early AM, 400 blk Euclid, 2500 Calif, 3000 Pacific, window smash on autos, cameras, I-pods, laptops, I-phones taken.

03/17-3:45pm to 8:50pm, 700 blk of Parker, window smash on Toyota Sequoia, gym bag with clothing & toiletries taken.

I wonder how many realize that leaving anything of value in sight in a vehicle in San Francisco is a very high risk gamble.

A few months ago I stopped to help a woman and her family in Golden Gate Park after their rental car window was smashed in the middle of the day and all their valuables stolen just 50 feet from where they were standing to admire the Windmill. When she called the police they told her to file a report and there was nothing more that they could do. That is the same area as the above incidents.

Window smashing has been a plague in San Francisco for years in practically all neighborhoods. Here’s an example video from 2009

Literally every day I have been on a San Francisco street I see an auto with a smashed window like this and safety glass on the sidewalk. The latest news suggests that the scenic area of Hwy 1 near the edge of Golden Gate Park is a particularly high risk (attackers hide in the bushes — if you see a hole in a chain-link fence, don’t park near it with anything visible inside your car. Alternatively, leave your doors unlocked and windows open).

Last week the SFPD announced that they are facing a “tremendous” problem. Perhaps the tweets have been setup to reach out for help?

…there were more than 13,000 auto break-ins last year, a trend police say they are aggressively trying to curb.

“The numbers are tremendous,” Supervisor David Chiu said during the board’s Monday Public Safety Committee hearing. “We need to do everything we can to attack the crime.”

Chiu said he’s so concerned about the auto theft problems in his district, which includes North Beach and Chinatown, that he’s considering drafting legislation that would require parking garage operators to increase security at lots citywide.

That is an average of 36 auto windows smashed a day. If you start your loss estimate with the window replacement itself (~$100) and then add in lost productivity plus missing contents…it’s easy to see how the numbers quickly add up to a serious financial burden.

It makes me wonder if the SFPD Twitter data stream, which could distribute data close to real-time, will inspire do-good vigilantism. Another data stream is from phone apps that relay police scanners. Will this technology lead to masked cyclists riding in the park at night with video to stop attacks? Or will Craigslist build an app to help quietly flag suspected stolen goods (description match) from smashed windows? After years watching the problem grow, SFPD seems open to suggestion.