Now we all no that there are Hacker tricks to fool around with Smartlinked guns, and other nifty wireless gadgets. Now here is my question lets say you have a complete smartlinked system that is only running skinlinked. Can you set it up so that if someone was to somehow grab your gun since it is not in the smartlinked system they would need to hack it, and then decrypt it in order to use it? If so, this just seems like a smart safety percaution for CorpSex personel to use.

Well.. in a short answer. Yes.

Biometic Safety.
It hasnt reappeared in SR4 yet. Assumably though it would in Aresenal. It was introduced in SR3 in the Cannon Companion. Basically a coded chip put in as part of the smartlink system. It would only accept the interface of 'authorized' smartlink systems. You could hack it if you had the time and the tools. Which was really ultmiately a mix of gunsmtihing and electronics.

There was abit of a downside to it though. If some one.. say a corp got ahold of your gun. They could use it to help positively ID you. Since then they would basically have the hard coded "ID Code" of your smartlink ware. And the only way to change that is have the old system surgically removed.

The Biometic Safety also, by the way totally locks up the gun. It cant be fired at all without it. Which also makes wearing gloves while using one problematic. Though by SR cannon (At least going by one of the stories.. it was either in the SR2 rule book or possibly teh lone star book I jsut read recently) thats gotten around simply enough by having a hole in the palm of the glove for the interface pad. Now of course with SR4 you no longer -need- that interface pad. But you -do- need contact with your skin for it to work so the same limitations apply.

Of course, you can allways get around that with the typtical standby. Wires. Their not cool, or pretty. But they are unhackable for all intense and purpsoes. They do of course have other downsides (Such as the wires getting severed). But you can minimize some of them. Such as running the wires UNDER your body armor where/when possible and practical to do so.

You could for example run the wire for your handgun down the sleve of your jacket. But then every time you want to use the gun you'd have to physically plug it in and then unplug it again to holster it.

Also keep in mind. While all these fun things like your smartguns are wireless. They have a VERY limited range. So even if your running off a wireless link for your smartgun. Fors ome one else to hack it they have to have at least a transmitter/reciever within 3 meters of you. Thats.. a really small space. Course it's arguably done with a spy drone. But one with a big enough signal raiting itself to easily allow wireless connection to other things would be rather expensive. And likely rare.

And then you have to -keep- that spydrone or what ever within that 3m radius of the item at all times. Or at least as long as you want to control the item anyway.

Oh and on the issue of CorpSex? I think you need a condom. Not a smartlink.

Here's an interesting idea for Hackers, since Kesslan inspired it:

Sticky-dart transmission bouncer. Instead of keeping that bouncing spydrone in radius of someone, just attatch the thing to them. I'm sure it could be taken off, but in a firefight, it'll most likely get ignored in favor of bullet-style threats.

Assuming they put the induction type datajack back in then you can have your smartlink work through that and have some sort of unique code to wire it to you that you can change if you lose a gun or guns.

-Strobe

Well just for grins I always have a skinlink only com to run smartlinks, vision and audio enhancers. With the WiFI capabilities intentionally removed. So if someone can hack into a completely offline PAN. Also I kind of wonder why induction palm gloves with a skinlink aren't the hot runner gear of the moment. Since you can subscribe, firewall, and encrypt the thing it seems almost better than a finger print checker. Since if I have a team mate I can you know hand him my gun.
Also someone mentioned you can spoof a hardwired Mac card, and I'm curious how that works.

It's probably cheaper (and easier) to have the "biometric" subscribe to the user's PAN and and check the serial number of a bit of tech known to be installed in him. (If no cyber is installed in the purchaser an RFID can be slapped into your arm/clothes and it checks for that.)
This is probably how 90% of the off-the-shelf biometric safeties function.

More advanced models that actually check the user's palm-print, DNA, Voiceprint, Retna, or shoe-size suffer from the fact that they actually need gizmos in the weapon to scan this information, thus the price skyrockets and the room for other cool stuff sinks.

The "Check for an RFID" model solves the problem of losing the weapon and the 'Star suddenly having data that links your meat to the crime. Lose the gun, yank the chip and your good!

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"Please present left eye to barrel for ID Verification" -Biometric enabled Predator

Yeah well that may well be how it works in 2070. We dont have the SR4 version of the biometic safety yet. Just the SR3 version which does infact work on a hard coded (into the gun) bit of info. Be it fingerprints, or the hard coded ID of your smartlink ware.

The problem with making the gun so that it wipes this info is, it makes the safety useless at that point. Since once the data is none existant, either anyone can pick up the gun and fire it. Or it's a useless hunk of metal till some one witht he right skills 'resets' it to accept a new user.

SR4 offers alot more options however along those lines. Also the other thing to keep in mind is. The whole idea of the Biometic safety was that it was something that could be used by anyone. Just like a gun can be. Which is why it typically used fingerprints or some such crap like that.

Either way you'd definately I think would want it to be a hard coded system. The idea of running it through a 'key' in a chipjack (Hell now that datajacks ARE chipjacks iin SR4 a datajack will do) works. Since afterall you loose the gun. NO big deal. Not more than usual to tie you to it. Wipe the chip and there you go. Need to change the code? Well then you need both the gun, and a proper coded ID chip. And probably require some sort of BIOS like password to get around recoding the gun.

You could still bypass that say.. like you can bypass a computers BIOS password now (Via a jumper setting which wipes it all) but to do that you'd have to phsyically open the gun etc. Which isnt somethign you can do in a matter of seconds. Which is all tha treally matters.

House rule here but we have "clothlink" clothing. Adds about 50Y to each item/outfit but it incorporates a fine wire mesh that allows skinlinked items in pockets, on belts, held in gloves, etc to still maintain a skinlink connection. The mesh is really sparse, we're talking about one thread in ten has wires incorporated so there's no disadvantage to being shot with a taser or electricity spell, since we figured the fabric needed very little wire to equal the electrical electrical properties of flesh.

Skinlink works for 'touch range'.

IRL, there are claims that the field modulations can be used up to 3 meters.

So, basically, if you carry it, it should be fine.