Question Automatically shutting down the power, or computer, if an intrusion is detected.

[piratehash]

Hello
Do you know where to purchase a burglar alarm that cuts off electricity, or shuts down a computer via lan (Kill switch).
What I mean is that instead of making a sound, it would cut off the electricity.

Or is it possible to configure a Raspberry Pi to have such a function.

 

[kanewolf]

Hello
Do you know where to purchase a burglar alarm that cuts off electricity, or shuts down a computer via lan (Kill switch).
What I mean is that instead of making a sound, it would cut off the electricity.

Or is it possible to configure a Raspberry Pi to have such a function.

What amount of electricity? Single outlet? Whole house ?

 

[punkncat]

I would imagine that any number of relays could be utilized to perform such a function. My bigger question is, why?
Having a system drop power could cause errors on the drive up to corruption and certainly wouldn't stop a thief from taking the device or contents.

What is the use case and scenario you wish to have happen?

 

[piratehash]

Can be on 1 electrical outlet
but ideally it should work for the whole house

 

[kanewolf]

Can be on 1 electrical outlet
but ideally it should work for the whole house

The hardware required for 100 or 200A disconnect is VERY different from 15A outlet. Could a relay be triggered by a PI? Sure. Lots of tutorials on that. Most alarm systems have the capability to trigger a relay, a PI isn't even required.
I agree with @punkncat that randomly shutting power off to something is a bad idea. Especially if that "something" is a computer.

 

[punkncat]

I may not be understanding you.

You want to have a HOME burg system which will shut power off to the house if a break in happens, or you want to have CASE intrusion on a PC that will shut power to the whole home if the case is opened on that PC?

 

[piratehash]

The disks are encrypted. It will not be possible to read the data from the disk. I have many files on my disk that should never fall into anyone's hands.

 

[USAFRet]

You could probably configure a UPS to power off on a break in event.

I absolutely do not know the specifics, but an idea to pursue.

 

[kanewolf]

The disks are encrypted. It will not be possible to read the data from the disk. I have many files on my disk that should never fall into anyone's hands.

So it is acceptable risk that YOU lose access to these files also ?

 

[piratehash]

Even the newest SSDs can also get damaged when the power is disconnected? I thought only old HDDs were susceptible to this.
I'm in the habit of doing backups often, so it won't affect me much

 

[USAFRet]

Even the newest SSDs can also get damaged when the power is disconnected? I thought only old HDDs were susceptible to this.
I'm in the habit of doing backups often, so it won't affect me much

Not the physical drive, but the data on it. The system may be doing things that do not like a sudden power off.
And for an encrypted volume, ANY corruption can lead to the whole thing being unreadable.

 

[punkncat]

I am going to imagine that you mean if someone breaks into the property, you want power to drop.

Traditional burg systems will have onboard relays that can activate for specific events. As a for instance, you could set a condition where if the system goes into alarm on an intrusion that the relay would then trip what I believe electricians call a switch leg. Basically a relay designed to handle "high" voltage. ("Low" voltage is technically anything under 110VAC, but traditionally 24VDC and lower)
Newer burg systems, of which I am not nearly as familiar, incorporate a lot of smart home features and can be tied directly into automation devices to perform specific activities.

Keep in mind that burg systems are not infallible and can false alarm for bad contacts and such, as well as the user error introduced by people forgetting to arm/disarm properly.

My suggestion would be to utilize the security already in your OS where you can set an inactive time to log out and set it to want a password on wake. If the disks are encrypted AND you use a strong password for log in it would seem to offer a good front line of "care" that won't leave you with worthless or damaged equipment.

 

[piratehash]

Thank you all for your advice

 

[Ralston18]

I do not understand this.

Considering that someone truly thinking about breaking into you house would be looking for ways to disable the alarms, cameras, recorders, etc..

Your plans may just give them the proverbial keys to the kingdom.

Or for some lesser bad guy: "Cool. The power went off. Lucky me...."

 

[punkncat]

I do not understand this.

Considering that someone truly thinking about breaking into you house would be looking for ways to disable the alarms, cameras, recorders, etc..

Your plans may just give them the proverbial keys to the kingdom.

Or for some lesser bad guy: "Cool. The power went off. Lucky me...."

To be fair, and only the aspect of the alarm itself...They have a battery backup and even with power in the home off should not cause issue with the phone lines for calling out. I am of the impression, however, given the unusual request desired that the calling in the police aspect may not be at play here. This is 'off standard' for sure.