Gizmodo: War Games

Air Force Wants to Use Every Computer They've Got to Build Massive Botnet for DDoS Attacks

matt buchanan — Wed, 14 May 2008 07:30:00 EDT

China has been semi-famed for launching DDoS attacks and poking around the US's secure networks generally. One Air Force colonel's solution? Build a massive botnet to DDoS the Commie bastards (or anyone else) right back. Because we're on the Light side, our bigass botnet wouldn't infect new computers, but the plan would press millions of computers set for the scrap pile into DDoS duty, as well as every unclassified computer in the Air Force's possession (including civilian government machines).

Bringing the good ol' Cold War days to the future, the system would be linked to the Air Force's high-speed instruction detection systems, letting them immediately strike back at the source. I'm internally debating whether this is a good idea or not, all Skynet jokes aside. Your thoughts? [Threat Level]

Air Force Buys 300 PlayStation 3 for Research

Jesus Diaz — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 05:16:28 EST

The image associated with this post is best viewed using a browser.The Air Force has bought 300 PlayStation 3s for "research." Whether "research" means "let's play a massive Call of Duty 4 game" or "let's start building SkyNet with 300 PlayStation 3 nodes" or "let's create a giant black mecha with Blu-ray lasers" is yet to be seen. According to the Air Force, they need the cell processors for assessment:

The Air Force Research Laboratory is conducting a technology assessment of certain cell processors. The processors in the Sony PlayStation 3 are the only brand on the market that utilizes the specific cell processor characteristics needed for this program at an acceptable cost.

So in case you have 300 PS3 that just fell from a truck, here is the order:

The contractor shall provide the following items on a firm fixed price basis:
Item 1: Sony PlayStation 3 Game Console - 40 GB Hard Drive

Qty: 300

Sony Part Number 98006

The estimated delivery date is 30 days after receipt of award. The place of delivery, acceptance, and FOB destination point is F4HBL1/Transportation Depot 2, 148 Electronic Parkway, Rome, NY 13441-4516.

I wonder if Transportation Depot 2 is where they store the lost arks and dead aliens with the spaceships. [Air Force via Hushed Casket]

No Hummer Jokes Here, Honest

Gizloco — Tue, 27 Dec 2005 11:51:53 EST

The Hummer just isn t an obnoxiously big car driven by Arnold Schwarzenegger. Oh, no, it s a highly-capable combat machine when properly outfitted. Since the next generation of Hummers is still being worked on, the US Air Force has commissioned companies in California to outfit consumer-grade Hummers for military exercises. These limo-style Hummers will stand in for the real war machines during tests and exercises. Retrofitted with networking equipment, computers and radios (and air conditioners—it s hot in the desert!), the Hummers don the traditional camouflage paint. Odds are you probably won t be able to buy these babies at your friendly neighborhood Hummer dealership, though.

HUMMER LIMOS ENTER WAR GAMES [Defense Tech]