Pentagon buys device via undercover operation suspected link to Havana Syndrome(cnn.com)
cnn.com
Pentagon buys device via undercover operation suspected link to Havana Syndrome
https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/13/politics/havana-syndrome-device-pentagon-hsi
11 comments
How long until it is used against civilians who are viewed as annoying or part of an opposing ideology group or business competitors?
The worrisome part is that it may be easy to conceal and thus one can do this without much of a risk of getting caught.
We will likely have to respond with detectors everywhere, maybe even inside of phones (which would be really convenient and justify an upgrade cycle.)
The worrisome part is that it may be easy to conceal and thus one can do this without much of a risk of getting caught.
We will likely have to respond with detectors everywhere, maybe even inside of phones (which would be really convenient and justify an upgrade cycle.)
Whatever it does (if the phenomenon is real) I'm sure it can be easily detected. If it is powerful enough to affect the human body, sensitive electronics will have no issue detecting it.
Edit: ah it's pulsed radio waves, so basically a radar (which itself is really a microwave oven without the door). Really easily detectable with as much as a diode. It could also cause weird effects in electronics. Like ccfl bars glowing on their own. They might have found a frequency or pulse form that the human body is exceptionally sensitive to.
I'm just a bit sceptical. We know radar can be dangerous at really high power but I'm sure this is the very first thing they would have checked for when this syndrome first came to light. I'd be surprised if the whole radio spectrum around embassies in sensitive parts of the world isn't monitored as part of standard counter surveillance.
Edit: ah it's pulsed radio waves, so basically a radar (which itself is really a microwave oven without the door). Really easily detectable with as much as a diode. It could also cause weird effects in electronics. Like ccfl bars glowing on their own. They might have found a frequency or pulse form that the human body is exceptionally sensitive to.
I'm just a bit sceptical. We know radar can be dangerous at really high power but I'm sure this is the very first thing they would have checked for when this syndrome first came to light. I'd be surprised if the whole radio spectrum around embassies in sensitive parts of the world isn't monitored as part of standard counter surveillance.
Considering the parallels between havana syndrome and stuff like chronic fatigue syndrome, it may already be!
A few more comments earlier: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46598284
> The device acquired by HSI produces pulsed radio waves
Wouldn’t that be something that could be detected?
Wouldn’t that be something that could be detected?
Jeez am I the only guy not making money on this grift?
"pulsed radio waves" makes me think of lethal microwaves but only for a fraction of every second so they are not lethal but still damaging. If for a thousandth of every second you spiked a massive microwave burst into someone's brain I imagine it wouldn't be good for them.
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Thats what I was thinking, portable magnetron
One the one hand this is a serious concern for U.S. officials on the other hand any modern weapon (guns, etc.) can cause career-ending injuries too. The covert operation is certainly an interesting feature though.