A judge’s December ruling in an intellectual property law suit between two software firms in Massachusetts could strip the CIA’s Predator drones of their targeting software, the CEO of one of the companies says.
Intelligent Integration Systems (IISi) of Boston, Mass., developer of a sophisticated mapping software that guides CIA drones, has accused its Netezza, its onetime partner in the deal, of stealing its technology after it refused to go along with an expedited production schedule allegedly demanded by the CIA. IISi maintains that its unique software was not ready for use in the Predator system and would cause missiles to miss their targets by up to 40 feet.
“My reaction was one of stun, amazement that they want to kill people with my software that doesn’t work,” IISi’s chief technology officer said in a sworn statement last April.
“Any installations that took place after that date are unlicensed,” Davis said in a phone interview. The company would not permit customers to use “hacked” versions of its software.
This is all crazy.
Adafruit publishes a wide range of writing and video content, including interviews and reporting on the maker market and the wider technology world. Our standards page is intended as a guide to best practices that Adafruit uses, as well as an outline of the ethical standards Adafruit aspires to. While Adafruit is not an independent journalistic institution, Adafruit strives to be a fair, informative, and positive voice within the community – check it out here: adafruit.com/editorialstandards
Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat – we’ll post the link there.
I’m sure any decision made, will be passed to the CIA first. If the CIA wanted to, they can pull a states secret or similar request. The military has the right to take whatever they need for the defense of the state, and has been enforced through court in the past (Don’t have a reference for it though :/ ) and I’m sure there are judges that would extend the military privilege to the CIA.
I don’t agree with it though. (and the CTO’s statement. HA! He’s in shock not that they are using it to kill people, but that they are using faulty software to do it haha)
How to convert a sniper rifle into a cheap Saturday Night special in one easy step. Instead of hitting that target and killing him, you merely take out one of his house servants and deafen him instead. 40 feet does matter. Awesomes!
I’m sure any decision made, will be passed to the CIA first. If the CIA wanted to, they can pull a states secret or similar request. The military has the right to take whatever they need for the defense of the state, and has been enforced through court in the past (Don’t have a reference for it though :/ ) and I’m sure there are judges that would extend the military privilege to the CIA.
I don’t agree with it though. (and the CTO’s statement. HA! He’s in shock not that they are using it to kill people, but that they are using faulty software to do it haha)
How to convert a sniper rifle into a cheap Saturday Night special in one easy step. Instead of hitting that target and killing him, you merely take out one of his house servants and deafen him instead. 40 feet does matter. Awesomes!