US Military Is Looking At Blockchain Technology To Secure Nuclear Weapons (qz.com) 62
Lasrick quotes a report from Quartz: Blockchain technology has been slow to gain adoption in non-financial contexts, but it could turn out to have invaluable military applications. DARPA, the storied research unit of the U.S. Department of Defense, is currently funding efforts to find out if blockchains could help secure highly sensitive data, with potential applications for everything from nuclear weapons to military satellites. The report adds: "The case for using a blockchain boils down to a concept in computer security known as 'information integrity.' That's basically being able to track when a system or piece of data has been viewed or modified. In DARPA's case, blockchain tech could offer crucial intelligence on whether a hacker has modified something in a database, or whether they're surveilling a particular military system. This September, DARPA, which stands for Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (the agency helped create the internet, among other things), awarded a $1.8 million contract to a computer security firm called Galois. The firm's assignment is to formally verify -- a sort of computer-code audit, using mathematics -- a particular type of blockchain tech supplied by a company called Guardtime. Formal verification is one way to build nearly unhackable code, and it's a big part of DARPA's approach to security. If the verification goes well, it could inch DARPA closer to using some form of blockchain technology for the military, DARPA's program manger behind the blockchain effort, Timothy Booher, said. 'We're certainly thinking through a lot of applications,' he says. 'As Galois does its verification work and we understand at a deep level the security properties of this [technology] then I would start to set up a series of meetings [with the rest of the agency] to start that dialog.'"
I'm sorry. (Score:3)
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Blockchain! (Score:2)
https://youtu.be/ZDOI0cq6GZM [youtu.be]
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Holy WTOP radio ad, Batman!
joshua what are you doing? (Score:2)
joshua what are you doing?
"..I would start to set up a series of meetings.." (Score:2)
Storage (Score:4, Funny)
Then they'll store it on a pile of 8" floppies.
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I have a few lying around if they are interested
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they could store it on their penis as long as that penis is isolated from all internet facing slots.
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Not to be a spelling nazi, but it's spelled sluts, with a U. Penises should be isolated from internet facing sluts.
The only security our nuclear weapons need (Score:1)
The only security our nuclear weapons need is for a designer to go in, remove one piece, and keep it locked in a safe fifteen feet away from said weapon. Given the complexity of our nuclear weapons (I don't think we are using any Gun-type Uranium models anymore, could be wrong), and the required timing of the explosive charges (I'm thinking of another type here; may not apply to all), that piece of hardware has to be reinstalled in the nuclear weapon in the right place (according to the right measurements,
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Isn't there a requirement that the ICBMs be ready to launch within 30 seconds notice, or something aggressive like that?
If so, finding and reinstalling the missing piece of hardware within that 30 second window is going to be a challenge.
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Meh, those ICBMs are all underground, in bunkers designed to withstand a nuke. They have time.
Plus if the enemy is attacking the farmland that houses these bunkers, it's not attacking any major population centers. Major population centers, of which many have an AEGIS cruiser (I think it's AEGIS, need to double-check, but it's late here), capable of providing limited anti-ICBM capability.
Russia is the only player who could attempt such a feat, and while national pride is currently swelling, it doesn't pay th
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> Meh, those ICBMs are all underground, in bunkers designed to withstand a nuke. They have time.
If you want to conduct a first strike, sure. If you have incoming warhead, not quite. "Withstand a nuke" does not mean what you think it means. It does not mean "The assembly area is going to be intact after a hit with all your tools in the same place on the desk". It means "The missile is going to probably lift-off, but the launch crew is not necessarily going to be a good shape".
Also, USAF and the Russian St
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China won't attack the US, the own half the place!
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There is also the issue of submarines carrying 24 missiles with 3 warheads apiece. That is not a realistic scenario for the whole assembly/disassembly thing.
That said, this is basically what happened on the missions to Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Someone had to screw in the fuses and stuff into the weapon. In person. Inside the aircraft.
computer code audit, using mathematics (Score:5, Funny)
> The firm's assignment is to formally verify -- a sort of computer-code audit, using mathematics
That's like saying: "an MRI is a sort of selfie, using magnets".
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Only one is accurate...you don't take an MRI of yourself. Portrait would be more apt.
Re: computer code audit, using mathematics (Score:2)
Using a blockchain is like hammering in a nail with a rake.
If you want an audit log, all you really need is a replicated log. Just look at paxos for the proof of correctress and the limitations. For example how many unreliable actors you can have in your system
Where is the common sense? (Score:3)
If you don't want a nuclear war, don't connect your launch controls to the internet.
Why do I even have to say this?
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Google Stuxnet, Snowden. Internet is not the only route to breaching systems. I personally like that insiders or clever zero-days have harder time manipulating stuff, nuclear weapons or otherwise.
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Ah, the old BattleGames quote. That's up there with "You can't handle honesty!" from "A Few Great Men," and "Present me with an attractive offer!" from "Cuba Macguire."
Nothing to see here, move along (Score:3)