US homeland security: DoS robot dog disrupts criminals' Wi-Fi and smart devices
The US Department of Homeland Security uses a robot dog to shut down local networks and suspects' IoT devices to protect officers.
A version of the Vision 60 from Ghost Robotics as produced for the military.
(Image: Ghost Robotics (Screenshot))
The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has deployed a robot dog that can use its onboard technology to carry out denial of service (DoS) attacks on Internet of Things (IoT) devices and thus disable them. Such smart home devices are increasingly being used to trigger booby traps, for example, according to a transcribed speech by Benjamine Huffman (PDF), Director of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) of the DHS, at the Border Security Expo 2024 in Texas. The robot dog provides security forces with a tool to turn off smart home devices before a house search and prevent officers from being injured.
The four-legged robot dog, called NEO, is a modified Vision 60 robot from the US robotics company Ghost Robotics. The company sells the basic model to law enforcement agencies and the military. The company has around 25 customers in the USA.
The version developed for the US Department of Homeland Security includes an antenna array and an on-board computer. The combination can be used to paralyze local networks and prevent data traffic by means of DoS attacks. This also paralyzes connected smart home devices. The robot dog can get close to a house or apartment and launch the attacks from there.
Switching off video surveillance and IoT-controlled booby traps
The background to this is that criminals are increasingly using smart home devices to identify security officers via wireless surveillance cameras prior to arrests or house searches, for example, or to use motion sensors to trigger booby traps. It is also conceivable that a criminal could use voice commands to extinguish lights, close doors and trigger weapon systems during an arrest. In 2021, for example, a man in Florida used a smart doorbell to identify FBI officers who suspected him of sexually abusing children and wanted to arrest him. The man then opened fire on the officers, killing two of them and injuring others.
To prevent this, security officers can use NEO to deactivate smart devices such as Wi-Fi security cameras, voice assistants and sensors in advance to avoid falling into a "smart" trap. The robot dog will also be able to penetrate networks and hijack video and audio devices in order to deliver images and sounds from inside the house or apartment of suspects to security officers in advance.
The DHS has set up the "FLETC Smart House" to train its officers to use NEO. There, security officers learn how IoT devices can be used against them and how to disable them to prevent injury or death.
(olb)