The smart gun has moved out of science fiction, and is now science fact: how smart and secure are they?
With advances in technology, smart guns have eventually started to get traction in real life. There are things such as the Identilock biometric trigger guard accessory, which locks the gun down unless the right fingerprint verifies the rightful owner. Then there is the Armatix IP1, a gun with the identity verification built right in. It works by requiring the owner to wear a smartwatch device while using the pistol. Unless the watch and the pistol are within 12″ of each other, the gun will not fire.
Or at least that’s the theory.
The ingenuity of the researcher is to be commended. I hope the gun has been recalled as unfit for purpose.
I don’t know if the manufacturer has issued a recall, but I imagine it is unlikely. Mainly as, while I obviously agree about the research and the vulnerabilities uncovered by it, the real world risk resulting from all this is likely pretty minimal. What are the chances that during a ‘home invasion’ the attacker would know that the occupier owned this particular weapon and so came prepared with both a signal jammer and a magnetic unlocker? All on the off-chance that the weapon may be either used against them or accessible for them to use against the householder. What the story should prompt is for the manufacturer to think again about how it secures these weapons, and adapt the technology with a more secure mindset. In other words, to learn from the mistakes that have been revealed and move forwards armed (no pun intended) with that knowledge.
Interesting read. Thanks.
Thanks for reading, and taking the time to comment.
You didn’t mention the legal angle. If I own a smart gun that can, so the manufacturer claims, only be fired by me and someone else fires it and injures or kills with it, then where does the legal liability sit?
It’s an interesting one for sure, and a conversation that I was having on Facebook just yesterday in fact! IANAL but surely whoever pulled the trigger is liable for the consequences of that act, with the justice system determining guilt and punishment if so needed? The gun owner might be liable for some legal action (again IANAL) if they did not take appropriate measures to ensure the gun was not accessible to others, although obviously the smart gun protective system that failed would play into this debate. I’d like to think that the manufacturer/vendor would have some liability in law, and that there would be consequences as a result of such a failure, but I rather suspect I would be wrong in reality…