The DARPA-Funded Power Strip That Will Hack Your Network 176
An anonymous reader writes "The Power Pwn may look like a power strip, but it's actually a DARPA-funded hacking tool for launching remotely-activated Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Ethernet attacks. If you see one around the office, make a point to ask if it's supposed to be there. Pwnie Express, which developed the $1,295 tool, says it's 'a fully-integrated enterprise-class penetration testing platform.' That's great, but the company also notes its 'ingenious form-factor' (again, look at the above picture) and 'highly-integrated/modular hardware design,' which to me makes it look like the perfect gizmo for nefarious purposes."
Re:There is a perfectly logical explanation (Score:5, Informative)
Why would they? Newer power strips have "USB Charging Ports" for cell phones and other gadgets, so you don't need to waste a normal outlet on them.
Re:$1,295? (Score:4, Informative)
and how much will the insurance cost to cover your 200$ shit homebrew shoebox power strip when it burns a multi-million dollar factory down.
A recent quote from an EE company that I just happen to have on my desk right now puts cost of compliance with CE & similar electrical safety rules for a short-run product (a device my client is considering installing at a few hundred of their clients' sites) at about $70 per piece. I'm convinced that this "power strip" is being manufactured in much larger quantities than that, so costs should be reduced: so again, where is the money going? It doesn't do anything innovative, plus it's had government funding for its development, so it should have had lower development costs than if one of us were to make it.
Re:Licenses? (Score:4, Informative)
Found of Pwnie Express here - we are indeed in compliance with all OSS, and none of the OSS packages have been modified (our value add is in the custom ruby-based web UI, automation scripts, etc.)