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Thread: Wireless Insecurity

  1. #1
    Senior Member nihil's Avatar
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    Unhappy Wireless Insecurity

    Security researchers on Friday unveiled an open-source device that captures the traffic of a wide variety of wireless devices, including keyboards, medical devices, and remote controls.
    Article is here:

    http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/03...eless_sniffer/

    They suggest a cost of around $100 but there is no indication of the range over which the device would be effective.

  2. #2
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    Quote Originally Posted by nihil View Post
    Article is here:

    http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/03...eless_sniffer/

    They suggest a cost of around $100 but there is no indication of the range over which the device would be effective.
    i bought a logitech wireless keyboard and mouse recently the gives you an option to encrypt the connection but i dont know how effective it is , it does seem to reduce the range of the wireless signal when the encryption is enabled thou ie i had to disable the encryption and reconnect mouse and keyboard to receiver if i got them more than 3-4 feet away for them to work ,i imagine for them to sniff out certain signals like wireless g b blue tooth and wireless keyboards they need to be fairly close to the source cause in my experience they have a limited range at which they transmit
    Last edited by romanticcowboy; April 9th, 2010 at 06:26 PM. Reason: adding lil info about wireless keyboard and mouse in question

  3. #3
    Senior Member nihil's Avatar
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    I am sure that there is a journalistic FUD factor here.............but it kinda harks back to TEMPEST?

    If you have a wirelesss office with 200 employees then the range would have to be limited...........but what about the scanner.................? sure $100 may not get you much........but $1,000 or $10,000?


  4. #4
    HYBR|D
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    There was a thread i think last year with details about this happening, i'm pretty sure Dinowuff started the thread?

    I think the something was mentioned about using some sort of paint that blocks the signal from being sniffed from out-side ??

    i'll do some digging up and link it.

  5. #5
    Disgruntled Postal Worker fourdc's Avatar
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    TEMPEST was real

    >>I am sure that there is a journalistic FUD factor here.............but it kinda harks back to TEMPEST?<<

    Yeah, but if you're talking about the TEMPEST that I think you are, that was real. Those guys would sit in a van on the pier and then give the captain a copy of his day's communication traffic that was supposedly encrypted. At one point they supposedly had rigged a scanner to copy the electrical noise that a copier made so they could remote copy. We went groundstrip crazy on the ship.

    I have a bluetooth camera in my van to use when I back the rig up, I'm hopeless with mirrors. The camera only turns on when the rig is in reverse. The LCD on my dash is always on and looking for a signal. It's amazing driving through town and seeing what is being broadcast on peoples bluetooth video devices.

    A little bit of paranoia is a good thing.
    ddddc

    "Somehow saying I told you so just doesn't cover it" Will Smith in I, Robot

  6. #6
    AntiOnline Senior Member souleman's Avatar
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    Keykeriki v2 (yeah version 2) is the device. http://www.remote-exploit.org/?p=483

    It's keyboard only right now (and microsoft keyboard for attack). As far as range, it won't be much more then 20 to 30 feet. That isn't based on the device, it is based on the hardware in the wireless device. They have a really low power transmitter. The total range will probably be 2-3 times the range stated on the device. More then that, and there will be to much signal loss to be useable.
    \"Ignorance is bliss....
    but only for your enemy\"
    -- souleman

  7. #7
    Senior Member nihil's Avatar
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    Yeah, but if you're talking about the TEMPEST that I think you are, that was real.
    Yo! it was very real..........I used to work in the WMD sector

    You would need a Faraday Cage to block it............in fact I actually have an old 20" screen that has one built in...................I forget where I "liberated it" from

    I also believe that this thing is supposed to resist EMP from thermonuclear devices.............

    I do not plan a field test in the next few days.................

  8. #8
    Disgruntled Postal Worker fourdc's Avatar
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    We actually had some older crypto and UHF line of sight equipment with tubes, we were told that they would survive EMP. Anything silicon would be would be toast. I didn't think a Faraday cage could stop EMP, that's a lot of joules.

    Dave
    ddddc

    "Somehow saying I told you so just doesn't cover it" Will Smith in I, Robot

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