this post was submitted on 10 Feb 2024
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378
Canada to ban the Flipper Zero to stop surge in car thefts (www.bleepingcomputer.com)
submitted 9 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
139 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Canada to ban the Flipper Zero to stop surge in car thefts::The Canadian government plans to ban the Flipper Zero and similar devices after tagging them as tools thieves can use to steal cars.

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago (3 children)

How hard would it be to make a similar device?

[–] [email protected] 16 points 9 months ago (2 children)

A single-board computer, radio modules, and the appropriate software. Trivial for someone with the technical knowledge. The only thing that made the flipper unique is that it comes pre-packaged.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 9 months ago

The uniformity is also nice. Lots of tutorials targetting it

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

Any determined thief will just build their own, or one guy will do it and sell to all the thieves, this is the wrong solution.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

Politicians being stupid and thick, as usual.

This can be replicated with off-the-shelf components and readily available software. The real issue is the low security of cars.

Also, a similar device with better capabilities is about to hit the market.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Also, a similar device with better capabilities is about to hit the market.

What's it called?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

How specific is the law? I can imagine these idiots either...

  • Very specifically banning flipper so now people make a functionally identical device called the reppilf that is totally legal
  • Banning any computing device capable of transmitting radio, thus outlawing all cellphones, laptops, desktops, iot, etc.

PS: as others said, wouldn't be super hard to pull off, just a matter of assembling parts. This is why banning tools is almost always fucking stupid and only penalizes those who follow the law.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago

This is how every licensed gun owner in Canada has felt for years. You can go read how they word those laws to get a good idea of how they would go about wording this one. It's not great.