Is there any way to modify a Commlink to up its Response stat? Also, if you use a datajack to connect to a Nexus, can you rig through it? Can you shut off your vehicle to all outside signals and just flat out stop hackers by doing it?

Page 222 of SR4A. You can upgrade the Response via the third chart on that page. You effectively replace the "Response Chip" with the new rating, limited to a boost of +2 over its original stats.

Is there nothing for boosting them over 6, then? Anywhere?

In War! there are rules for commlinks stats over 6.

To answer your other questions:

Yes, you can use a nexus in place of a commlink. They're bulky, though (size of a desktop computer), and expensive.

Yes, you could shut off your vehicle's wireless...but there are problems. If you're in an urban area, GridGuide will flag you as non-compliant and bring down trouble (unless you stick to unlawful areas). You yourself can't remotely rig the vehicle. Etc.

There are ways around the rigging without a signal. Skinlink and/or jacking directly into the rigger friendly vehicle will do. But as mentioned above, running with the wireless shut off can lead to its own troubles. There can be ways around that, though, with a bit of imagination.

If you're actually rigging the vehicle I don't think it can be hacked, can it? I seem to remember reading that somewhere. So fibreoptic cord from your datajack to your vehicle control panel, and you should be safe. Put encryption in though for added piece of mind! (decrypting takes a long time, each test is per combat turn, not per phase).

Another might not be able to jump into the same vehicle that a rigger is running, but I'm quite sure it can still be hacked. For rigging, an ergonomic ECCM and Encrypt should probably be standard software.

p.246 SR4A - "Such hijacking attempts can be foiled by jumping into a device. A jumped in rigger overrides any other control of the drone, including by its pilot". the paragraph before this talks about hacking and spoofing a drone.

So if you're jumped in, your drone should be pretty hacking proof, I think? Or if not I guess fibreoptic cord jump in, then cut all wireless functions, but that creates its own problems if you need to be communicating with your own team on the other side of a building.... I would still recommend encryption anyway for when its on remote or piloting itself.

I think the question for SpellBinder is: is 'being hacked' the same as 'any other *control* of the drone'? I think the answer is clearly no, so jumped-in drone can be hacked… but not controlled.

Which only means that the hacker has to unload on the Rigger with some Black IC.

Alternately, get a good-enough Jammer into place to knock the Rigger out of communication with said drone ... meaning he's no longer jumped in ... meaning, it's Hacking time.

Which also means said Rigger can detect the hacker with a good Analyze program, and counter it. Might very well have ICE on his own. Jammer could work, but it works both ways usually - if you jam the vehicle you can't hack it. If you jam the rigger who is jumped into a drone, you can hack the drone. In any case, being jumped in seems a good defensive measure.

Exactly. Controlling a drone and hacking a drone are two different things, at least to me anyway. If you've hacked a drone that's being rigged you won't be able to issue anything to the drone by Command programs or jump in it yourself, but you can use other programs to mess with the rigger. Edit and Negator can be hilarious. And I'd also expect the rigger to be completely vulnerable to Black IC attacks as well. Might even be able to find a way get the drone to eject the rigger as well (same way any other node can eject a user).

Yes, of course.

In fact, ANY time a hacker tries to get into a node, it automatically gets to try and detect him (rolling Analyze + Firewall).

Honestly, IMO Riggers should always have an Agent with combat programs running, ready to play "pet Sypder" for his little network of drones and such. Plus, putting top-rated Firewall and Analyze programs in all his drones. Also also, running the whole setup on a nonstandard wireless frequency, with all comms encrypted. Doing anything else is ASKING the opposition to take away a drone or two.


Yes and no. If you also know where the Rigger is (say: you're chasing his main ride, and he just popped a combat rotodrone out of a launch rack to do unkind things to you), you could jam the rigger's end of the link, and only that - say, with a directional jammer. That'd leave the drone open to hacking attempts.

I meant actively using Analyze himself.. you know Matrix Perception and all that.

For the last part that's exactly what I said in the following sentence.

hmm the way I understand it there are really only two choices for hackers - spoofing or hacking. So I think that p.246 quote means no hacking at all. So no sending in some IC. That's how I read it? But if that's not right, then I suppose the rigger is going to need encryption and probably a good analyse/IC program too, else he might get a very nasty surprise!!

Do note, "hacking" (to gain access to the node at all) is NOT the same as "controlling the node". If a Rigger is jumped in, teh hacker can gain access, but - until the Rigger is somehow ejected - cannot control the node.

And to get rid of the hacker, crash his icon (Attack in Matrix Combat), knock him out or kill him (Blackout or Blackhammer), or jam his signal so he loses connection (as others have noted).

Wasn't there a fine example of Slamm-O and Netcat going against a campus rigger?

* Link *

Yup, the short story at the start of the Matrix section in SR4a. But in there Slamm-O! used a Nuke program to attack the rigger, but that program doesn't cause you to get kicked from a node. If Nuke reduces a target's Response & System attributes to zero it freezes. You're limited to twice your System attribute in subscriptions, and each subscription beyond that counts as a running program (Unwired, page 55). Beyond severely impacting your matrix initiative, there's nothing I've seen that says you're dumpshocked.

Or, if you know he's there, just trigger a system alert, and let the drone's Analyze+Firewall boot him.