Freevolt[1],
is a new commercial technology capable of harvesting energy from the background
Radio Frequency (RF) waves[2],
such as the wireless networks (WiFi) and broadcast networks (digital TV, 4G, etc.), that
fill our air today.
This is not the first attempt to create “free” energy
from the tiny amount of RF waves in the surrounding air, but Drayson
Technologies have been the first to do this efficiently enough to provide commercially
viable power for low energy devices, such as IoT endpoints. Not only does Freevolt
provide power, but it also frees devices from the network infrastructure necessary to
provide a power source. Dean Bubley, founder of Disruptive Analysis, suggests potential
impacts this might have on the mobile networks that own the spectrum from which
Freevolt would be harvesting, in so much as this "free" energy might
actually be needed for communication or the network operators might start
demanding a fee[3].
However it is doubtful this type of energy could supply
critical infrastructure; where power loss is not an option. As with any
network, if a malicious attacker is able to tap into the infrastructure they
have the ability to disrupt it. In the case of a power network that is in the
air all around us, it might be possible for an attacker to artificially boost
the RF waves into providing too much power, thereby overloading the device and
taking it down. Alternatively, more powerful devices could harvest all
available surrounding RF signals, leaving no energy left for the intended
devices.
Are we left with a future of drive-by Denial-of-Energy attacks?
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