New York Metropolis’s 2026 mayoral inauguration of Zohran Mamdani has revealed a listing of banned gadgets for the occasion, particularly prohibiting the Flipper Zero and Raspberry Pi units.
As first reported by Adafruit, the ban record seems within the inauguration occasion’s official FAQ, which lists gadgets that will or will not be delivered to the occasion.
The record of prohibited gadgets additionally consists of giant baggage, backpacks and duffle baggage, weapons, fireworks or explosives, drones and different remote-controlled aerial units, strollers, coolers, chairs, blankets, umbrellas, bicycles or scooters, alcoholic drinks, unlawful substances, pets aside from service animals, laser pens, and bats or batons.
The Flipper Zero is a handheld gadget for studying and testing wi-fi communication protocols, together with RFID, NFC, infrared, Bluetooth, and radio indicators. It’s generally utilized by safety researchers, builders, and hobbyists for protocol evaluation and penetration testing.
A Raspberry Pi is a low-cost, general-purpose single-board laptop able to working customary Linux distributions and a variety of software program. Accessible in a number of configurations, the units could be expanded utilizing add-on modules and peripherals, enabling them to carry out lots of the similar duties as a desktop or laptop computer laptop.
In contrast to most different gadgets on the prohibited record, that are grouped into common classes, each units are particularly named, quite than being restricted beneath a common computing or wi-fi gadget class.
Gadgets such because the Flipper Zero have beforehand drawn scrutiny from governments, which have raised issues about their potential use in automotive theft, community breaches, and different types of cybercrime. In some circumstances, this has led to proposals to limit or ban the units, as effectively as seizures, although deliberate prohibitions have been rolled again.
On-line retailers have additionally banned the gadget previously, with Amazon prohibiting Flipper Zero listings out of issues it might be used for card skimming.
Nevertheless, the ban of those units from the occasion has precipitated confusion, as laptops and cell phones usually are not listed among the many prohibited gadgets, regardless of having equal or higher technical performance.
“On the record of prohibited gadgets revealed upfront, along with traditional sources of hazard equivalent to firearms, drones, and glass bottles, two units from the IT world are explicitly named: the Raspberry Pi and the Flipper Zero,” safety skilled Stefan Klatt posted on X.
“How do you say that you don’t have any thought with out saying it?”
Trendy laptops can run penetration-testing Linux distributions equivalent to Kali Linux, and smartphones can run superior safety toolsets like Kali NetHunter.
Occasion organizers haven’t supplied any particulars explaining why the Flipper Zero and Raspberry Pi had been singled out.
BleepingComputer has contacted the Mamdani marketing campaign’s press workplace for remark and can replace the story if a response is obtained.
It is price range season! Over 300 CISOs and safety leaders have shared how they’re planning, spending, and prioritizing for the yr forward. This report compiles their insights, permitting readers to benchmark methods, establish rising developments, and examine their priorities as they head into 2026.
Learn the way high leaders are turning funding into measurable influence.
