Post: #176

Quote:I see a huge spike in Faraday cage sales!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faraday_cage

Yup. Or as I posted here. Just wrap your smart phone in two layers of tinfoil. Try it, if two layers doesn't work, try three.

Post: #177

(03-10-2017 03:05 PM)DJ-Matt Wrote:  

(03-10-2017 02:35 PM)Fast Eddie Wrote:  

(03-10-2017 02:24 PM)DarkTriad Wrote:  

(03-10-2017 02:04 PM)BassPlayaYo Wrote:  If your phone doesn't have removable battery you can always place it in a metal enclosure (cookie tin, altoids tin, etc.) which will keep it from connecting to the network.

I smell a business opportunity for a very special kind of "Iphone case".

I don't know man, that sounds like a hate crime to me. Not allowing your Iphag free access to the network is against human rights and is totally un-American...

I see a huge spike in Faraday cage sales!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faraday_cage

https://www.amazon.com/Mission-Darkness-...araday+bag

$30? Don't mind if I do.

Post: #178

You've heard the stories of people traveling into China, and after traveling from the airport to their hotel, finding that spyware was installed on their electronic devices en route. That bag would probably help keep that from happening.

Post: #179

(03-10-2017 12:54 PM)Easy_C Wrote:  And the side benefit that you can't buy a cheaper, generic brand battery when yours wears out or service the phone yourself without voiding the warranty.

Looking at my own cellphone ownership, unless your phone is one of the popular brands of cellphones, it hard to find reliable battery for your phone. Thus your phone lifespan is diminished as OEM batteries become scarce on the market space. Those cheap generic brand battery's reliability is varies.

The trend of the non removal battery in cellphones is response of increasing demand for longer battery life on cellphones and the quick turnover of phone with each new generation of phones with new hardware and new software features.

Regardless of Vault 7's findings, cellphones are no longer a tool to aid one's life but anchor to the toxicity of social media.

Post: #180

(03-10-2017 04:59 PM)Thersites Wrote:  

(03-10-2017 12:54 PM)Easy_C Wrote:  And the side benefit that you can't buy a cheaper, generic brand battery when yours wears out or service the phone yourself without voiding the warranty.

Looking at my own cellphone ownership, unless your phone is one of the popular brands of cellphones, it hard to find reliable battery for your phone. Thus your phone lifespan is diminished as OEM batteries become scarce on the market space. Those cheap generic brand battery's reliability is varies.

The trend of the non removal battery in cellphones is response of increasing demand for longer battery life on cellphones and the quick turnover of phone with each new generation of phones with new hardware and new software features.

Regardless of Vault 7's findings, cellphones are no longer a tool to aid one's life but anchor to the toxicity of social media.

Of all the things to complain about given what we've learned from the latest Wikileaks, you're complaining about access to social media? It's a tool like any other, and just because you can't handle it doesn't mean others can't. You sound like one of those Alcoholics Anonymous guys that rails against the evils of alcohol because he has character flaws that make him incapable of handling it. I get a lot of mileage out of social media, not just women, but a network of solid decades of old friends because I've been a character guy my whole life. I can reach out have people help me from all over the world. It's like fire, a great servant but a poor master. It's easier to just master yourself than to ban fire.

Post: #181

(03-10-2017 05:42 PM)DarkTriad Wrote:  

(03-10-2017 04:59 PM)Thersites Wrote:  

(03-10-2017 12:54 PM)Easy_C Wrote:  And the side benefit that you can't buy a cheaper, generic brand battery when yours wears out or service the phone yourself without voiding the warranty.

Looking at my own cellphone ownership, unless your phone is one of the popular brands of cellphones, it hard to find reliable battery for your phone. Thus your phone lifespan is diminished as OEM batteries become scarce on the market space. Those cheap generic brand battery's reliability is varies.

The trend of the non removal battery in cellphones is response of increasing demand for longer battery life on cellphones and the quick turnover of phone with each new generation of phones with new hardware and new software features.

Regardless of Vault 7's findings, cellphones are no longer a tool to aid one's life but anchor to the toxicity of social media.

Of all the things to complain about given what we've learned from the latest Wikileaks, you're complaining about access to social media? It's a tool like any other, and just because you can't handle it doesn't mean others can't. You sound like one of those Alcoholics Anonymous guys that rails against the evils of alcohol because he has character flaws that make him incapable of handling it. I get a lot of mileage out of social media, not just women, but a network of solid decades of old friends because I've been a character guy my whole life. I can reach out have people help me from all over the world. It's like fire, a great servant but a poor master. It's easier to just master yourself than to ban fire.

Once again, I made mistake rushing through my post without proofreading or clarifying my thoughts. THanks for the catch, DarkTriad. I should add in the line, "for example" to the last sentence of my previous post.

To clarify what I meant, today's cellphone have morph from a useful tool, that made life more convenient and increase productivity, into essential item that can become a drain to one's attention. Social media, apps, games and so forth can become a drain of one's time and focus if one's allows it. In today's world, technology is becoming a means of enslavement instead of the vibe from the 90's where technology was seen in general as way to make life more convenient and to help create a better future. This plays into lot of what we seen in Vault 7 files as we see how technology is being use to against us by powers that be.

Post: #182

(03-10-2017 04:48 PM)C-Note Wrote:  You've heard the stories of people traveling into China, and after traveling from the airport to their hotel, finding that spyware was installed on their electronic devices en route. That bag would probably help keep that from happening.

This happens in China way more often than most people realize. Several years ago, I had to attend a security briefing that was conducted by the FBI concerning trips to China for the company I use to work for. They told us that we should consider our cell phones and any smart phone that we have when we enter China will be compromised. Chinese security agents are very aggressive and intentionally target American business people when they go there.

We were advised to use a burner smartphone when traveling to China and to discard it upon returning back to the United States. They also advised this for laptop computers as well. A lot of senor US business executives are targeted electronically when they go on business trips to China.

Post: #183

The downside of those faraday cages is that they will only stop the spying while the phone is off. Most of the data they need can be gathered and transmitted while the phone is being used.

Post: #184

(03-10-2017 07:10 PM)MKE-Ed Wrote:  This happens in China way more often than most people realize.

http://security.uri.edu/travel/travel-to...or-russia/

Quote:Travel to China or Russia

Recent press coverage in the N.Y. Times (see "Traveling Light in a Time of Digital Thievery" in the reference list at the end of this document) has increased popular concern about the cyber security of travelers to China or to the Russian Federation. This document is meant to provide a basic briefing for higher education users on this topic of concern.

U.S. travelers are believed to be priority targets for cyber attack and monitoring/surveillance, particularly if they are known to be engaged in classified or proprietary research in a STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) discipline. Institutional leaders, those who are politically or religiously active, fluent speakers of the local language and individual tourists may also be actively targeted, however all American should assume that they are potentially at risk if traveling to China or Russia.
Laptops, tablets, e-book readers, smart phones and even regular cell phones taken overseas may be successfully attacked and compromised via malware or automated attack tools. Commercially available security software, even when completely up to date, may not prevent such compromise.
Electronic devices may also be at risk of physical tampering or theft, particularly if those devices are left unattended (including devices left locked in a hotel room or even left locked in a hotel safe while dining, shopping or touring). On the other hand, carrying one’s laptop or other electronic devices continually may increase their risk of being accidentally lost or forgotten, or stolen by a thief/pick pocket. On balance, however, we recommend you keep your devices with you at all times.
Devices taken across international borders may be subject to involuntary official governmental review and even complete duplication (e.g., in some countries, Customs officers may temporarily seize your device, and potentially keep a copy of one’s entire system on entry or exit).
Use of encryption may be forbidden in some countries. For example, while many US universities routinely require whole disk encryption to protect personally identifiable information (PII) on laptops, some countries (such as China and the Russian Federation) do not allow importation/ exportation of encrypted devices. While some whole disk encryption products, such as TrueCrypt, allow you to attempt to conceal encrypted disk partitions, attempts at hiding encrypted disk partitions may nonetheless be detected, and lying in response to border official questioning about the existence of encrypted disk partitions may be a potentially serious criminal offense.
Access to some web sites, including access to some mainstream popular western social media web sites, may be technically blocked. Secure (“https”) web sites and use of institutional virtual private networks (“VPNs”) may also be blocked by some countries, because it is more difficult for national authorities to monitor that encrypted traffic. Attempts to circumvent national censorship (e.g., with Tor, Ultrasurf or similar products) may be blocked and/or punished if noticed.
Access to some web sites, including access to some mainstream popular western social media web sites, may be technically blocked. Secure (“https”) web sites and use of institutional virtual private networks (“VPNs”) may also be blocked by some countries, because it is more difficult for national authorities to monitor that encrypted traffic. Attempts to circumvent national censorship (e.g., with Tor, Ultrasurf or similar products) may be blocked and/or punished if noticed.
Obviously these considerations may make traveling to China or Russia quite challenging.

Recommendations:
If possible, avoid traveling to China or the Russian Federation.
If you must travel to China or the Russian Federation, leave all electronic devices in the U.S. and inform colleagues that you will be "off the air" for the duration of your travel. Minimize the length of your stay in those countries.
If you are travelling without your own laptop, you may be tempted to use a computer in a cyber cafe of hotel business center, however those systems have a very high probability of being infected with malware (which may capture anything you type, including your username, password, credit card information, etc.), or of being routinely and actively monitored by national authorities.

Therefore, never use shared computers in cyber cafes or hotel business centers, or systems belonging to other travelers, colleagues, or friends.

If you are absolutely unable to be offline for the duration of your travel, do not take your normal day-to-day devices with you. Use a new temporary device, such as an inexpensive new laptop or a throw-away prepaid cell phone purchased just for that trip, instead.
Be sure that any such new system is fully patched, and has all institutionally recommended security software installed, but otherwise minimize what it contains, and while abroad, minimize your use of that system.

Ensure it requires a long/complex password for access, and keep it completely off (not just sleeping or hibernating) when you’re not actively using it, and keep it in your physical possession at all times.

Assume anything you do on that system, particularly over the Internet, will be intercepted
(in some cases, encrypted network traffic may be decrypted).

Upon return to the U.S., immediately discontinue all use of that temporary system, and have it reviewed for indications that it may have been compromised abroad. The system should then be sanitized and disposed of.

Change any/all passwords you may have used abroad.

Some Additional Things to Consider If Traveling to China or Russia:

• Tape-over any integrated laptop cameras.
• Have a computer technician physically disconnect any integrated laptop microphones.
• Install a privacy screen (such as those from 3M) on your laptop to discourage so-called "shoulder surfing."
• Disable all file sharing.
• Disable all unnecessary network protocols (such as WiFi, Bluetooth or infrared).
• In case your system is lost, stolen, seized or destroyed, take a full backup.
• Leave all unneeded door keys, smart cards or USB format PKI hard tokens, one time password crypto fobs, and similar access control devices in the United States.
• Be sure to clean out your purse or wallet, particularly if you normally carry notes about various accounts or passwords. Any RFID cards (including U.S. Government Nexus "trusted traveler" cards) should be carried inside an RF-shielded cover.
• If you need to send or receive email while traveling, create a temporary "throw away" account on Gmail or a similar service before you travel.
• Do not use your regular email account. Do not send any sensitive messages via email
• Avoid making or receiving voice calls, using voice mail, using IM or SMS, or sending or receiving faxes.
• Even powered-off cell phones may be able to be turned into surreptitious monitoring and geolocation devices. If you don’t want to be geographically tracked, or you’re attempting to have a confidential conversation, cell phone batteries must be removed.
• Any/all CDs, DVDs, thumb drives, attachments, links and “QR” cell phone bar codes must be considered to be potentially hostile and malware infected.
• Do not use USB-based public battery charging stations; the USB interface to your device they may allow the charging station to do more than just provide power.
• Do not purchase new hardware while traveling.
• Do not purchase or download any new software while traveling.
• Do not have any of your electronic devices "repaired" or "worked-on" while abroad.
• Any discarded items (such as notes, documents, diskettes/CDs/DVDs) may be retrieved, analyzed and potentially exploited.
• Tor (and other so-called censorship circumvention tools) may be blocked, or may provide imperfect anonymity; use of such tools may attract official attention, and may result in you being investigated and punished or expelled.
• Guides, drivers, and interpreters may report on your activities.
• Beware of attempts to put you in embarrassing or compromising positions. You may be getting targeted for eventual extortion.
• While abroad, register with the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate and please report any suspicious incidents you experience to them.
• If arrested, taken into custody, or interrogated, do not make any statements or sign any documents, particularly if they are written in a language you don’t know. Ask to have the U.S. Embassy or Consulate notified of your detention at once.

References

Quote:"Beware of Juice Jacking," http://krebsonsecurity.com/2011/08/bewar...e-jacking/
"Browsing the Broken Web: A Software Developer Behind the Great Firewall of
China," http://www.troyhunt.com/2012/03/browsing...loper.html

"China-Based Hacking of 760 Companies Shows Cyber Cold War," http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-12...d-war.html
"Foreign Spies Stealing US Economic Secrets in Cyberspace," Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive, Oct 2011, http://www.ncix.gov/publications/reports...n_2011.pdf
"Lawmakers say Capitol computers hacked by Chinese," http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/...0014_x.htm
"Occupying the Information High Ground: Chinese Capabilities for Computer Network Operations and Cyber Espionage," Prepared for the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission by Northrop Grumman Corporation," March 7th, 2012, http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/2...OR20120328
"Richard Clarke: China Has Hacked Every Major US Company," http://www.zdnet.com/blog/security/richa...pany/11125
"Shadows In the Cloud: Investigating Cyber Espionage 2.0," April 6th, 2010, Information Warfare Monitor and Shadowserver Foundation, http://www.scribd.com/doc/29435784/SHADO...ionage-2-0
"The Dark Visitor: Inside the World of Chinese Hackers," http://www.thedarkvisitor.com/
"The Government’s Four Cyber Silences: Testimony of Jason Healey, Director, Cyber Statecraft Initiative, Atlantic Council to the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission on ‘Developments in China’s Cyber and Nuclear Capabilities,’" March 26,
2012, http://www.uscc.gov/hearings/2012hearing...healey.pdf
[note in particular the discussion of "national responsibility" and "The Spectrum of State
Responsibility" in Table 1 on PDF page 9]

"The OpenNet Initiative," http://opennet.net/ [the OpenNet Initiative tracks government deep packet inspection and censorship efforts]
"Tips from the National Counterintelligence Executive: Traveling Overseas with Mobile Phones, Laptops, PDAs, and Other Electronic Devices," http://www.ncix.gov/publications/reports/traveltips.pdf
"Tracking GhostNet: Investigating a Cyber Espionage Network," Information Warfare Monitor, March 29, 2009, http://www.scribd.com/doc/13731776/Track...ge-Network
"Traveling Light in a Time of Digital Thievery," February 10th, 2012, http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/11/techno...onage.html
"Unclassified Statement for the Record on the Worldwide Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community for the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence," James R. Clapper, Director of National Intelligence, January 31, 2012, http://www.dni.gov/testimonies/20120131_...ny_ata.pdf
"US Expels Venezuelan Diplomat Over Cyberespionage Allegations," January 10th,
2012, http://intelnews.org/2012/01/10/01-905/

"U.S. Probes Whether Laptop Copied On China Trip," http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008...pied_N.htm

Post: #185

(03-10-2017 06:20 PM)Thersites Wrote:  

(03-10-2017 05:42 PM)DarkTriad Wrote:  

(03-10-2017 04:59 PM)Thersites Wrote:  

(03-10-2017 12:54 PM)Easy_C Wrote:  And the side benefit that you can't buy a cheaper, generic brand battery when yours wears out or service the phone yourself without voiding the warranty.

Looking at my own cellphone ownership, unless your phone is one of the popular brands of cellphones, it hard to find reliable battery for your phone. Thus your phone lifespan is diminished as OEM batteries become scarce on the market space. Those cheap generic brand battery's reliability is varies.

The trend of the non removal battery in cellphones is response of increasing demand for longer battery life on cellphones and the quick turnover of phone with each new generation of phones with new hardware and new software features.

Regardless of Vault 7's findings, cellphones are no longer a tool to aid one's life but anchor to the toxicity of social media.

Of all the things to complain about given what we've learned from the latest Wikileaks, you're complaining about access to social media? It's a tool like any other, and just because you can't handle it doesn't mean others can't. You sound like one of those Alcoholics Anonymous guys that rails against the evils of alcohol because he has character flaws that make him incapable of handling it. I get a lot of mileage out of social media, not just women, but a network of solid decades of old friends because I've been a character guy my whole life. I can reach out have people help me from all over the world. It's like fire, a great servant but a poor master. It's easier to just master yourself than to ban fire.

Once again, I made mistake rushing through my post without proofreading or clarifying my thoughts. THanks for the catch, DarkTriad. I should add in the line, "for example" to the last sentence of my previous post.

To clarify what I meant, today's cellphone have morph from a useful tool, that made life more convenient and increase productivity, into essential item that can become a drain to one's attention. Social media, apps, games and so forth can become a drain of one's time and focus if one's allows it. In today's world, technology is becoming a means of enslavement instead of the vibe from the 90's where technology was seen in general as way to make life more convenient and to help create a better future. This plays into lot of what we seen in Vault 7 files as we see how technology is being use to against us by powers that be.

I get your meaning now and I apologize if I was argumentative.

Post: #186

(03-10-2017 07:23 PM)911 Wrote:  The downside of those faraday cages is that they will only stop the spying while the phone is off. Most of the data they need can be gathered and transmitted while the phone is being used.

Is that standard with this software? Do we need a soundproof case? What are the odds the faraday cages actually work?

Post: #187

Great find, Transsimian.

Post: #188

(03-10-2017 08:02 PM)Transsimian Wrote:  

(03-10-2017 07:10 PM)MKE-Ed Wrote:  This happens in China way more often than most people realize.

http://security.uri.edu/travel/travel-to...or-russia/

Quote:Travel to China or Russia

Recent press coverage in the N.Y. Times (see "Traveling Light in a Time of Digital Thievery" in the reference list at the end of this document) has increased popular concern about the cyber security of travelers to China or to the Russian Federation. This document is meant to provide a basic briefing for higher education users on this topic of concern.

U.S. travelers are believed to be priority targets for cyber attack and monitoring/surveillance, particularly if they are known to be engaged in classified or proprietary research in a STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) discipline. Institutional leaders, those who are politically or religiously active, fluent speakers of the local language and individual tourists may also be actively targeted, however all American should assume that they are potentially at risk if traveling to China or Russia.
Laptops, tablets, e-book readers, smart phones and even regular cell phones taken overseas may be successfully attacked and compromised via malware or automated attack tools. Commercially available security software, even when completely up to date, may not prevent such compromise.
Electronic devices may also be at risk of physical tampering or theft, particularly if those devices are left unattended (including devices left locked in a hotel room or even left locked in a hotel safe while dining, shopping or touring). On the other hand, carrying one’s laptop or other electronic devices continually may increase their risk of being accidentally lost or forgotten, or stolen by a thief/pick pocket. On balance, however, we recommend you keep your devices with you at all times.
Devices taken across international borders may be subject to involuntary official governmental review and even complete duplication (e.g., in some countries, Customs officers may temporarily seize your device, and potentially keep a copy of one’s entire system on entry or exit).
Use of encryption may be forbidden in some countries. For example, while many US universities routinely require whole disk encryption to protect personally identifiable information (PII) on laptops, some countries (such as China and the Russian Federation) do not allow importation/ exportation of encrypted devices. While some whole disk encryption products, such as TrueCrypt, allow you to attempt to conceal encrypted disk partitions, attempts at hiding encrypted disk partitions may nonetheless be detected, and lying in response to border official questioning about the existence of encrypted disk partitions may be a potentially serious criminal offense.
Access to some web sites, including access to some mainstream popular western social media web sites, may be technically blocked. Secure (“https”) web sites and use of institutional virtual private networks (“VPNs”) may also be blocked by some countries, because it is more difficult for national authorities to monitor that encrypted traffic. Attempts to circumvent national censorship (e.g., with Tor, Ultrasurf or similar products) may be blocked and/or punished if noticed.
Access to some web sites, including access to some mainstream popular western social media web sites, may be technically blocked. Secure (“https”) web sites and use of institutional virtual private networks (“VPNs”) may also be blocked by some countries, because it is more difficult for national authorities to monitor that encrypted traffic. Attempts to circumvent national censorship (e.g., with Tor, Ultrasurf or similar products) may be blocked and/or punished if noticed.
Obviously these considerations may make traveling to China or Russia quite challenging.

Recommendations:
If possible, avoid traveling to China or the Russian Federation.
If you must travel to China or the Russian Federation, leave all electronic devices in the U.S. and inform colleagues that you will be "off the air" for the duration of your travel. Minimize the length of your stay in those countries.
If you are travelling without your own laptop, you may be tempted to use a computer in a cyber cafe of hotel business center, however those systems have a very high probability of being infected with malware (which may capture anything you type, including your username, password, credit card information, etc.), or of being routinely and actively monitored by national authorities.

Therefore, never use shared computers in cyber cafes or hotel business centers, or systems belonging to other travelers, colleagues, or friends.

If you are absolutely unable to be offline for the duration of your travel, do not take your normal day-to-day devices with you. Use a new temporary device, such as an inexpensive new laptop or a throw-away prepaid cell phone purchased just for that trip, instead.
Be sure that any such new system is fully patched, and has all institutionally recommended security software installed, but otherwise minimize what it contains, and while abroad, minimize your use of that system.

Ensure it requires a long/complex password for access, and keep it completely off (not just sleeping or hibernating) when you’re not actively using it, and keep it in your physical possession at all times.

Assume anything you do on that system, particularly over the Internet, will be intercepted
(in some cases, encrypted network traffic may be decrypted).

Upon return to the U.S., immediately discontinue all use of that temporary system, and have it reviewed for indications that it may have been compromised abroad. The system should then be sanitized and disposed of.

Change any/all passwords you may have used abroad.

Some Additional Things to Consider If Traveling to China or Russia:

• Tape-over any integrated laptop cameras.
• Have a computer technician physically disconnect any integrated laptop microphones.
• Install a privacy screen (such as those from 3M) on your laptop to discourage so-called "shoulder surfing."
• Disable all file sharing.
• Disable all unnecessary network protocols (such as WiFi, Bluetooth or infrared).
• In case your system is lost, stolen, seized or destroyed, take a full backup.
• Leave all unneeded door keys, smart cards or USB format PKI hard tokens, one time password crypto fobs, and similar access control devices in the United States.
• Be sure to clean out your purse or wallet, particularly if you normally carry notes about various accounts or passwords. Any RFID cards (including U.S. Government Nexus "trusted traveler" cards) should be carried inside an RF-shielded cover.
• If you need to send or receive email while traveling, create a temporary "throw away" account on Gmail or a similar service before you travel.
• Do not use your regular email account. Do not send any sensitive messages via email
• Avoid making or receiving voice calls, using voice mail, using IM or SMS, or sending or receiving faxes.
• Even powered-off cell phones may be able to be turned into surreptitious monitoring and geolocation devices. If you don’t want to be geographically tracked, or you’re attempting to have a confidential conversation, cell phone batteries must be removed.
• Any/all CDs, DVDs, thumb drives, attachments, links and “QR” cell phone bar codes must be considered to be potentially hostile and malware infected.
• Do not use USB-based public battery charging stations; the USB interface to your device they may allow the charging station to do more than just provide power.
• Do not purchase new hardware while traveling.
• Do not purchase or download any new software while traveling.
• Do not have any of your electronic devices "repaired" or "worked-on" while abroad.
• Any discarded items (such as notes, documents, diskettes/CDs/DVDs) may be retrieved, analyzed and potentially exploited.
• Tor (and other so-called censorship circumvention tools) may be blocked, or may provide imperfect anonymity; use of such tools may attract official attention, and may result in you being investigated and punished or expelled.
• Guides, drivers, and interpreters may report on your activities.
• Beware of attempts to put you in embarrassing or compromising positions. You may be getting targeted for eventual extortion.
• While abroad, register with the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate and please report any suspicious incidents you experience to them.
• If arrested, taken into custody, or interrogated, do not make any statements or sign any documents, particularly if they are written in a language you don’t know. Ask to have the U.S. Embassy or Consulate notified of your detention at once.

References

Quote:"Beware of Juice Jacking," http://krebsonsecurity.com/2011/08/bewar...e-jacking/
"Browsing the Broken Web: A Software Developer Behind the Great Firewall of
China," http://www.troyhunt.com/2012/03/browsing...loper.html

"China-Based Hacking of 760 Companies Shows Cyber Cold War," http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-12...d-war.html
"Foreign Spies Stealing US Economic Secrets in Cyberspace," Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive, Oct 2011, http://www.ncix.gov/publications/reports...n_2011.pdf
"Lawmakers say Capitol computers hacked by Chinese," http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/...0014_x.htm
"Occupying the Information High Ground: Chinese Capabilities for Computer Network Operations and Cyber Espionage," Prepared for the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission by Northrop Grumman Corporation," March 7th, 2012, http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/2...OR20120328
"Richard Clarke: China Has Hacked Every Major US Company," http://www.zdnet.com/blog/security/richa...pany/11125
"Shadows In the Cloud: Investigating Cyber Espionage 2.0," April 6th, 2010, Information Warfare Monitor and Shadowserver Foundation, http://www.scribd.com/doc/29435784/SHADO...ionage-2-0
"The Dark Visitor: Inside the World of Chinese Hackers," http://www.thedarkvisitor.com/
"The Government’s Four Cyber Silences: Testimony of Jason Healey, Director, Cyber Statecraft Initiative, Atlantic Council to the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission on ‘Developments in China’s Cyber and Nuclear Capabilities,’" March 26,
2012, http://www.uscc.gov/hearings/2012hearing...healey.pdf
[note in particular the discussion of "national responsibility" and "The Spectrum of State
Responsibility" in Table 1 on PDF page 9]

"The OpenNet Initiative," http://opennet.net/ [the OpenNet Initiative tracks government deep packet inspection and censorship efforts]
"Tips from the National Counterintelligence Executive: Traveling Overseas with Mobile Phones, Laptops, PDAs, and Other Electronic Devices," http://www.ncix.gov/publications/reports/traveltips.pdf
"Tracking GhostNet: Investigating a Cyber Espionage Network," Information Warfare Monitor, March 29, 2009, http://www.scribd.com/doc/13731776/Track...ge-Network
"Traveling Light in a Time of Digital Thievery," February 10th, 2012, http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/11/techno...onage.html
"Unclassified Statement for the Record on the Worldwide Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community for the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence," James R. Clapper, Director of National Intelligence, January 31, 2012, http://www.dni.gov/testimonies/20120131_...ny_ata.pdf
"US Expels Venezuelan Diplomat Over Cyberespionage Allegations," January 10th,
2012, http://intelnews.org/2012/01/10/01-905/

"U.S. Probes Whether Laptop Copied On China Trip," http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008...pied_N.htm

Thanks Transsimian, great post. And looks like we're going to have to add America to that list of countries.

Post: #189

(03-10-2017 07:23 PM)911 Wrote:  The downside of those faraday cages is that they will only stop the spying while the phone is off. Most of the data they need can be gathered and transmitted while the phone is being used.

Yes. Smartphones can collect all the data they need in offline mode (passwords, record audio etc) then send the data back to the hacker once the phone gets an internet connection.

Post: #190

There is a solution to at least the main mobile phone vulnerability.

Via the baseband processor is by far the most popular method used to hack you in countries like China - Stingrays are everywhere and are able to easily push whatever exploit they wish to your phone wirelessly using cellular radio.

(03-10-2017 05:50 AM)Valentine Wrote:  No phone is secure because they all have a closed source baseband processor which has full access to RAM of the application processor (i.e. your phone company or friendly local intelligence agency will have an exploit to take whatever data from your phone they want, even if you use full disk encryption).

Phone companies are never going to open-source their baseband processors but there is another solution for regaining privacy.

(12-13-2016 09:44 AM)Valentine Wrote:  You need hardware baseband isolation - your baseband processor no longer having access to your device fully. So either use a Neo 900 (still in development) or a tablet + a portable WiFi router.

Neo900

The Nokia N900 still has a small community who use it because of it's QWERTY keyboard, resistive touchscreen and ability to run Debian Linux. So developers realised it was cheaper to design and easier to sell by just retrofitting the N900's case with new parts.

There are some tradeoffs with this phone in comparison with modern flagship phones and these are addressed in their FAQ.

This is an open hardware project so the schematics are available to the public, which makes it much easier to repair and upgrade (potentially for life).

They're taking downpayments now and it's due to ship in Q3 2017 (likely in batches).

Post: #191

You can buy stingrays?

Please, do tell.

Post: #192

(03-11-2017 04:51 PM)Cattle Rustler Wrote:  You can buy stingrays?

Please, do tell.

You can make them yourself even but you won't (easily) be able to buy the strongest ones that law enforcement use.

Post: #193

Post: #194

At least Facebook is still safe. They always offer me the option of revealing or blocking my location, and I choose to block it. So much cheaper than buying a black phone. Convenient too. I feel like I am in a digital safehouse and the police are on their way.

Post: #195

(03-12-2017 01:15 PM)debeguiled Wrote:  At least Facebook is still safe. They always offer me the option of revealing or blocking my location, and I choose to block it. So much cheaper than buying a black phone. Convenient too. I feel like I am in a digital safehouse and the police are on their way.

God save us from people who mean well. -storm

Post: #196

I'm pretty sure debeguiled was being sarcastic there. The scary part is that I've actually seen similar comments posted with utter seriousness.

Post: #197

(03-12-2017 09:41 PM)Paracelsus Wrote:  

(03-12-2017 01:15 PM)debeguiled Wrote:  At least Facebook is still safe. They always offer me the option of revealing or blocking my location, and I choose to block it. So much cheaper than buying a black phone. Convenient too. I feel like I am in a digital safehouse and the police are on their way.

"I feel like I am in a digital safehouse and the police are on their way."

You thought that was serious?

I gotta spend more time looking for sarcasm gifs.

Post: #198

With my subversive pro Brexit, pro Trump, anti globalism views. I'm going to turn my iPhone off - and take the battery out - before I drive home tonight in my 21 year old car.

Post: #199

(03-12-2017 01:15 PM)debeguiled Wrote:  At least Facebook is still safe. They always offer me the option of revealing or blocking my location, and I choose to block it. So much cheaper than buying a black phone. Convenient too. I feel like I am in a digital safehouse and the police are on their way.

Post: #200

This is interesting...

But...


Meanwhile, looks like Rand Paul is right. A very interesting article to read.