Government announces the ‘Tamagotchi for-hackers’ will be removed from the Canadian marketplace
A pocket-sized device with the ability to interact and analyze a wide range of wireless communications has been banned in Canada.
Flipper Zero can be a powerful tool for both novice and experienced hackers who want to explore the security of a range of wireless devices.
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Retailing for US$169 (about $230), Flipper Zero can check for vulnerabilities in wireless networks, clone access cards and send and receive infrared signals and radio frequencies.
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There’s also speculation that it’s contributing to Canada’s stolen car crisis. Here’s what to know.
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Earlier this month, the federal government announced that the device would be banned as part of its effort to combat auto theft.
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED), a government department aimed at fostering a competitive, innovative, and knowledge-based economy, said it will “pursue all avenues to ban devices used to steal vehicles by copying the wireless signals for remote keyless entry, such as the Flipper Zero, which would allow for the removal of those devices from the Canadian marketplace through collaboration with law enforcement agencies.”
The announcement comes just days after politicians, auto industry executives and police forces from across Canada gathered for a national summit to address the auto theft crisis.
Insurance industry group Équité Association, and other groups, have long called on Transport Canada to update Canada’s federal Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations which were last updated in 2007, before the era of keyless and remote start technologies.
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“Criminals are now taking advantage of the outdated standards,” Bryan Gast, a certified fraud investigator with Équité Association, said last year. “They can quickly and easily exploit these vulnerabilities, which has led to this significant increase in stolen vehicles across Canada.”
Originally funded through a Kickstarter campaign that raised nearly $5 million, the “Tamagotchi for-hackers” has a rather benign origin. It is marketed as an open-source multi-tool device for researching and pen-testing, also known as ethical hacking and penetration testing.
The tool can be used for various types of penetration testing including capturing and replaying signals from remote controls, such as garage doors, analyzing and debugging wireless protocols and probing “Internet of Things” devices. Users can explore and test the security of wireless systems and devices around them.
Videos on social media allegedly demonstrate the device being used to unlock car doors. However, experts and the device’s manufacturers have pushed back against those concerns, noting that modern vehicles utilize a rolling code system for their key fobs. This significantly mitigates the potential for misuse of the Flipper Zero as each code generated by a key fob is unique and only valid once.
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Flipper Devices, the company behind Flipper Zero, has challenged the Canadian government’s decision, maintaining that the device lacks the capability to breach the security systems of modern vehicles, especially those manufactured after the 1990s.
In January, a report from the New Jersey Cybersecurity & Communications Integration Cell found that many videos showcasing the device’s capabilities on TikTok were fake and spread misinformation. It noted that the device cannot duplicate encrypted signals (such as those found on debit cards) and discussions about modifying the firmware to include unlawful functionalities are banned on Flipper Zero’s Discord server.
“Although Flipper Zero reportedly has not been used for criminal activity, it — like other legitimate tools and similar devices — has the potential for intentional misuse and abuse,” the report noted.
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BELGRADE, Serbia – Canada’s Denis Shapovalov is back in the winner’s circle.
The 25-year-old Shapovalov beat Serbia’s Hamad Medjedovic 6-4, 6-4 in the Belgrade Open final on Saturday.
It’s Shapovalov’s second ATP Tour title after winning the Stockholm Open in 2019. He is the first Canadian to win an ATP Tour-level title this season.
His last appearance in a tournament final was in Vienna in 2022.
Shapovalov missed the second half of last season due to injury and spent most of this year regaining his best level of play.
He came through qualifying in Belgrade and dropped just one set on his way to winning the trophy.
Shapovalov’s best results this season were at ATP 500 events in Washington and Basel, where he reached the quarterfinals.
Medjedovic was playing in his first-ever ATP Tour final.
The 21-year-old, who won the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF title last year, ends 2024 holding a 9-8 tour-level record on the season.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
VANCOUVER – Contract negotiations resume today in Vancouver in a labour dispute that has paralyzed container cargo shipping at British Columbia’s ports since Monday.
The BC Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 are scheduled to meet for the next three days in mediated talks to try to break a deadlock in negotiations.
The union, which represents more than 700 longshore supervisors at ports, including Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Nanaimo, has been without a contract since March last year.
The latest talks come after employers locked out workers in response to what it said was “strike activity” by union members.
The start of the lockout was then followed by several days of no engagement between the two parties, prompting federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to speak with leaders on both sides, asking them to restart talks.
MacKinnon had said that the talks were “progressing at an insufficient pace, indicating a concerning absence of urgency from the parties involved” — a sentiment echoed by several business groups across Canada.
In a joint letter, more than 100 organizations, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Canada and associations representing industries from automotive and fertilizer to retail and mining, urged the government to do whatever it takes to end the work stoppage.
“While we acknowledge efforts to continue with mediation, parties have not been able to come to a negotiated agreement,” the letter says. “So, the federal government must take decisive action, using every tool at its disposal to resolve this dispute and limit the damage caused by this disruption.
“We simply cannot afford to once again put Canadian businesses at risk, which in turn puts Canadian livelihoods at risk.”
In the meantime, the union says it has filed a complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board against the employers, alleging the association threatened to pull existing conditions out of the last contract in direct contact with its members.
“The BCMEA is trying to undermine the union by attempting to turn members against its democratically elected leadership and bargaining committee — despite the fact that the BCMEA knows full well we received a 96 per cent mandate to take job action if needed,” union president Frank Morena said in a statement.
The employers have responded by calling the complaint “another meritless claim,” adding the final offer to the union that includes a 19.2 per cent wage increase over a four-year term remains on the table.
“The final offer has been on the table for over a week and represents a fair and balanced proposal for employees, and if accepted would end this dispute,” the employers’ statement says. “The offer does not require any concessions from the union.”
The union says the offer does not address the key issue of staffing requirement at the terminals as the port introduces more automation to cargo loading and unloading, which could potentially require fewer workers to operate than older systems.
The Port of Vancouver is the largest in Canada and has seen a number of labour disruptions, including two instances involving the rail and grain storage sectors earlier this year.
A 13-day strike by another group of workers at the port last year resulted in the disruption of a significant amount of shipping and trade.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
The Royal Canadian Legion says a new partnership with e-commerce giant Amazon is helping boost its veterans’ fund, and will hopefully expand its donor base in the digital world.
Since the Oct. 25 launch of its Amazon.ca storefront, the legion says it has received nearly 10,000 orders for poppies.
Online shoppers can order lapel poppies on Amazon in exchange for donations or buy items such as “We Remember” lawn signs, Remembrance Day pins and other accessories, with all proceeds going to the legion’s Poppy Trust Fund for Canadian veterans and their families.
Nujma Bond, the legion’s national spokesperson, said the organization sees this move as keeping up with modern purchasing habits.
“As the world around us evolves we have been looking at different ways to distribute poppies and to make it easier for people to access them,” she said in an interview.
“This is definitely a way to reach a wider number of Canadians of all ages. And certainly younger Canadians are much more active on the web, on social media in general, so we’re also engaging in that way.”
Al Plume, a member of a legion branch in Trenton, Ont., said the online store can also help with outreach to veterans who are far from home.
“For veterans that are overseas and are away, (or) can’t get to a store they can order them online, it’s Amazon.” Plume said.
Plume spent 35 years in the military with the Royal Engineers, and retired eight years ago. He said making sure veterans are looked after is his passion.
“I’ve seen the struggles that our veterans have had with Veterans Affairs … and that’s why I got involved, with making sure that the people get to them and help the veterans with their paperwork.”
But the message about the Amazon storefront didn’t appear to reach all of the legion’s locations, with volunteers at Branch 179 on Vancouver’s Commercial Drive saying they hadn’t heard about the online push.
Holly Paddon, the branch’s poppy campaign co-ordinator and bartender, said the Amazon partnership never came up in meetings with other legion volunteers and officials.
“I work at the legion, I work with the Vancouver poppy office and I go to the meetings for the Vancouver poppy campaign — which includes all the legions in Vancouver — and not once has this been mentioned,” she said.
Paddon said the initiative is a great idea, but she would like to have known more about it.
The legion also sells a larger collection of items at poppystore.ca.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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