Have you considered the possibility of being surveilled via another compromised device or via an implant?
Also:
Have you considered the possibility of being surveilled via another compromised device or via an implant?
Also:
i mean trust-able, because i bought it new, around 5-10 years ago,
re-format & re-use it for years already without any issue, and single user,
so then I assume it is trust-able.
do you think the emitted signal by laptop component, can be transformed into data / information ?
or is it just a random electromagnetic signal that contain no information ?
i had disassembled the laptop twice, compared everything inside with several references from internet, and found nothing suspicious. Also i have used it in empty room without any other electronic devices.
Audio key-logging or ultrasonic beacon maybe the gap, do you think by unplugging the speaker can eliminate the audio key-logging ? if we use on-screen keyboard, what if the GPU / any component emit signal containing screen display ?
imo, people around me, are not even qualified to be a newbie, in networking, cybersecurity, firmware, etc, and maybe not even interested, so for sure no solution.
but sometimes, i still share them some info about cybersecurity, surveillance, linux, open source, and sometimes also encourage them to use qubes.
i think no, because i use strong password, even sometimes me myself forget.
imo, not possible to guess, because it is random.
do you consider kind of witchcraft that can read mind ?
hmm, i don’t think such thing exist, but assuming it exist, then still no,
because sometimes, i keep things to write in my mind for days, due to no time to write, and no leak happen, as long as it still in my mind, but leak happen after writing.
common sense evidence, but very obvious, in both the timing and words, so it give me 100% confident, although it has always been wrapped as coincidence. Flood of coincidences, in both the timing and words, that happen in too many uncountable times for years. Last time i still note each coincidence that happened one by one, but then since too much already, so then i’m lazy to note anymore.
it started in year 2018, they started covert smear campaign against me, it’s not an open campaign, but covert close campaign, so i cannot clarify anything, and no one ask my clarification either.
basically, what they did is, stalking my social life, stalking my activity, smear campaign, instigate, provoke, & manipulate everyone, to put me under surveillance, flood me with anger, bullying, trolling, roasting, doxing, gas-lighting, offensive & intrusive sarcasm, unethically interfering my business, unethical communication, purposely misunderstood and frame me, privacy invasion, information disclosure, active surveillance, and so on. Also creating secret hidden covert communication affair with everyone approached to plot something against me. Ostensibly asking help, from so many people, to flood me with advice, but actually the real intention are covert smear campaign, covert negative campaign, covert black campaign, framing accusation, unethical interference, control and surveillance.
it has happened since 2018 until now. but 2018-2019, it happened by secretly stalking & approaching everyone in my social media only. Starting in year 2020, there was additional surveillance, they started targeting my electronic devices, laptop, mac, smart phone, tablet, including mic and cam.
if software is doing something crazy (like moving data “randomly” in ram), it can
if it not intended, yes (actually it not totally random, but it weak if signal is not designed to broadcast signal, however if you use strong antenna and know how to decode this, ~25% chance you would able to find correct information in the list of attempt (the chance is low because electronic component is very properly shielded from electromagnetic from both outside and inside))
maybe no, this is from keyboard
not gpu, but display cable has more ideal condition to capture display data (preventing solution: warp the cable with aluminum fold)
i guess you don’t know about psychology (only apply for very resourceful adversary)
unless they can put a special hat that can read you mind (yes, such thing exist) without you know, it not possible
then you should
however you still in luck because they are not skilled adversary
Thought this might be a good read for anyone in this thread.
Very cool methodology.
And I thought turning an HDMI port on a broken machine into an Ethernet port was an achievement… I have a lot to learn!
yes, and it need no trick because hdmi is designed to carry video, audio, usb and ethernet signal (i use dvi monitor)
Recently, I read many papers about cybersecurity attack, and none of these papers mention any harmful hardware, but most attacks require backdoor / malware, regardless it is covert channel attack, or side channel attack.
imo, the papers i read, can be categorized into 2 categories:
Below are some interesting finding i found from the references above.
Papers related to side channel attack, mention that all attacks require malware infection. Please kindly inform if there is any side channel attack, that doesn’t require malware infection.
In papers related to covert channel attack, what is considered harmful,
is not hardware, but firmware-carrying architecture, because:
what laptop components carry firmware ?
if firmware-carrying component, is not only SPI chip, and all firmware can be backdoor-ed / infected, then does it mean, flashing BIOS only is not enough ?
x86 firmware has many vulnerabilities, but little movement to patch. IIRC, the attached references above, were published around 2010 - 2015, but until now, so far i know, there is no any single stateless architecture being produced, then what should we do, to make those proposal come true ?
Security gap possibilities:
however you still in luck because they are not skilled adversary
it is saddening, to know that, i don’t have enough power, capacity, and capability, to protect my right, and now, after spending so much time and hard work, maybe i still have to depend on luck. But bad things happen already, and now what important is, what i can learn from this.
Below are some things that i learn, maybe i can share,
but maybe it doesn’t apply for everyone, because maybe we have different reality.
i don’t understand, what is “that”
note: most type of firmware are read-only rom
it possible in theory, however in realty, it almost impossible, it require too much effort to create it
maybe i forgot to sad it small luck
i think you better than me when talking about “trust” and hypothetical-like thing
note: most type of firmware are read-only rom
but i read from the paper, it is write-able, ie the firmware in EC can be infected / backdoor-ed, so it can sniff keyboard keystroke, the firmware in network card can be infected, the firmware in mic, cam, speaker also can be infected, so then i assume as long as it can be infected, then it is write-able
if software is doing something crazy (like moving data “randomly” in ram), it can
if it not intended, yes (actually it not totally random, but it weak if signal is not designed to broadcast signal, however if you use strong antenna and know how to decode this, ~25% chance you would able to find correct information in the list of attempt (the chance is low because electronic component is very properly shielded from electromagnetic from both outside and inside))
it possible in theory, however in realty, it almost impossible, it require too much effort to create it
how do you know these things ?
assumption, opinion, self experience or do you read somewhere ?
maybe no, this is from keyboard
do you mean that audio key-logging from keyboard keystroke doesn’t need speaker, so it can produce audio without speaker ? IIRC, i also read about this, in one of the reference, related to side channel attack, so the malware can emit audio key-logging without speaker
this
When the software is written shockingly poorly
I flash BIOS chips with an EEPROM and SOIC clip almost every day. Whether they are read-only is wholly dependant on whether their currently-running firmware allows write access to the chip.
But if the chip is off, of course you can write to them!
Think of it this way. If you are trying to access parts of a drive as a non-root user while the OS is running, the OS will deny you. But if you then take that drive and access it from another OS (where you have root privileges), you can access anything you want.
That is why we encrypt our hard drives
RISC-V is the next best thing being procured at the moment.
Can all of these things be done?
With the right conditions, YES they can.
Are they a good return on investment?
It depends. Am I trying to steal from as many people as possible and take advantage of the less bright individuals, or am I going after ONE person, whom I will do some serious recon on, to ensure that I absolutely nail them…?
What countermeasures can be taken to mitigate these?
“How do you emit sound without a speaker? It’s impossible…”
sounds very similar to
“How do you create office documents without Microsoft Office? It’s impossible…”
And I’d hope we all know the correct answer to the office document question
As long as the components required can fulfill the tasks, then it really doesn’t matter whether the components were designed to do them or not.
On another note, I will point out that there are some TV stations that will layer a loop of sound that’s above the audible frequency of the human ear on certain shows and commericals. It allows any internet-connected devices with microphones to pick up these sounds.
Think wifi signals, but just above the audible frequency range of the human ear.
In practice, it allows for data collection that someone was watching a certain channel/show/commercial, even if their TV screen is airgapped.
Similarly, since all electronic devices emit an electromagnetic field of some sort (unless, they’re OFF), if, by some creative manipulation of the device/component, that field can be manipulated; and that manipulation can be “heard” or “seen” by another component, then BOOM, you’ve got your communication!
okay, so you maybe at least a firmware expert
i mean rom from some controller, data are written at silicon level
i know this is tech forum, but wifi signal are electromagnetic signal while sound are vibration of a material
You can write to them too… That’s how the initial software gets onto them during the manufacturing process…
Correct. That was intended to entice people to think outside the box, hence the “scientific license”.
i found many project work on this, all failed
sound from keyboard when you press a key
how?!?
i think so, imo EM signal and audio signal are different,
if not, then we will emit EM signal when talking
imo, pressing most of keyboard key, produce the same typing sound
Unless the steps for the functioning of the device is hard-coded in the circuit design (the routing of the wires), you configure it exactly the same way you write to any electronic component that can be configured…
Yes. This can be done, but the requirements of this make it something that you wouldn’t do to simply anyone. It’s a lot of effort unless you were targeting a specific individual…
So yes. It IS possible
the “read-only rom” i’m talking about is this
Well, ROM stands for READ-ONLY MEMORY.
I have mentored university graduates in electrical engineering, and I have never ever heard of anyone referring to the wiring of a simple electrical circuit as “read-only rom”…
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/computer-science/read-only-memory
i often use “read-only rom” because many people also sad “rom” (like “android custom rom”) in the meaning of “eeprom”, so i do that to avoid some confusion