Sonic, the Hacker

When you’re out to destroy your enemy’s data, there are more than just a few ways to get it done. Apparently, a new one is using sound as a weapon. And we don’t mean blaring “Ice, Ice, Baby” at the DMZ. A recent report shows that using targeted sonic and ultrasonic soundwaves, researchers can disrupt the read, write and storage functions of a hard disk drive (HDD). Because the heads fly so close to the actual platter, soundwaves can create vibrations that cause the heads to crash, damaging the hard drive. So the next time you hear “My Achy Breaky Heart,” just be grateful it’s not a sonic attack.