« previous next »
Pages: [1]

Author Topic: NSA reportedly using radio waves to snoop on offline computers worldwide  (Read 2490 times)

TechMan

  • Administrator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 10,562
  • Yes, your moderation has been outsourced.
NSA reportedly using radio waves to snoop on offline computers worldwide
« on: January 15, 2014, 09:28:46 AM »
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/01/15/nsa-maps-pathway-into-computers-report-says/

Quote
The National Security Agency has placed software on nearly 100,000 computers around the world that allows the U.S. to conduct surveillance on those machines using radio frequency technology, The New York Times reported Tuesday.

The secret technology allows the agency to gain access to computers that other countries have tried to protect from spying or cyberattacks, even if they aren't connected to the Internet, The Times reported, citing NSA documents, computer experts and U.S. officials.
Report to moderator   Logged
Quote
Hawkmoon - Never underestimate another person's capacity for stupidity. Any time you think someone can't possibly be that dumb ... they'll prove you wrong.

Bacon and Eggs - A day's work for a chicken; A lifetime commitment for a pig.
Stupidity will always be its own reward.
Bad decisions make good stories.

Quote
Viking - The problem with the modern world is that there aren't really any predators eating stupid people.

RevDisk

  • friend
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 12,633
    • RevDisk.net
Re: NSA reportedly using radio waves to snoop on offline computers worldwide
« Reply #1 on: January 15, 2014, 09:33:06 AM »
So... They turned on Wifi?
Report to moderator   Logged
"Rev, your picture is in my King James Bible, where Paul talks about "inventors of evil."  Yes, I know you'll take that as a compliment."  - Fistful, possibly highest compliment I've ever received.

TechMan

  • Administrator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 10,562
  • Yes, your moderation has been outsourced.
Re: NSA reportedly using radio waves to snoop on offline computers worldwide
« Reply #2 on: January 15, 2014, 09:36:49 AM »
Quote from: RevDisk on January 15, 2014, 09:33:06 AM
So... They turned on Wifi?

Probably.
Report to moderator   Logged
Quote
Hawkmoon - Never underestimate another person's capacity for stupidity. Any time you think someone can't possibly be that dumb ... they'll prove you wrong.

Bacon and Eggs - A day's work for a chicken; A lifetime commitment for a pig.
Stupidity will always be its own reward.
Bad decisions make good stories.

Quote
Viking - The problem with the modern world is that there aren't really any predators eating stupid people.

bedlamite

  • Hold my beer and watch this!
  • friend
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 9,797
  • Ack! PLBTTPHBT!
Re: NSA reportedly using radio waves to snoop on offline computers worldwide
« Reply #3 on: January 15, 2014, 09:38:22 AM »
Quote from: RevDisk on January 15, 2014, 09:33:06 AM
So... They turned on Wifi?

Nope. Supposedly Intel cpus 2011 and newer have a 3G capability.

http://www.infowars.com/91497/
Report to moderator   Logged
A plan is just a list of things that doesn't happen.
Is defenestration possible through the overton window?

RevDisk

  • friend
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 12,633
    • RevDisk.net
Re: NSA reportedly using radio waves to snoop on offline computers worldwide
« Reply #4 on: January 15, 2014, 10:14:58 AM »
Quote from: bedlamite on January 15, 2014, 09:38:22 AM
Nope. Supposedly Intel cpus 2011 and newer have a 3G capability.

http://www.infowars.com/91497/

Absolutely BS. I WISH it was true, it'd be friggin awesome to have that functionality built in.


This is covert transmitters, according to the NYT. Basically hiding small transmitters in USB cables, flash drives, etc. Not at the manufacturer level, apparently. Hell, that's been done for sixty years in various forms. I've seen Wifi enabled hardware keyloggers at Defcon for over a decade. You can now buy them online for about $100. Hell, they make keyboard keyloggers that look exactly OEM. The boards have the keylogger integrated in them, and it's pretty damn subtle. 3G, GSM or alternative frequency hardware keyloggers aren't exactly rocket surgery.

Meh, this is even more boring than covertly enabling WiFi on laptops.

Disappointing.


Report to moderator   Logged
"Rev, your picture is in my King James Bible, where Paul talks about "inventors of evil."  Yes, I know you'll take that as a compliment."  - Fistful, possibly highest compliment I've ever received.

Fitz

  • Face-melter
  • friend
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 6,254
  • Floyd Rose is my homeboy
    • My Book
Re:
« Reply #5 on: January 15, 2014, 11:47:07 AM »
More tech journalism from tech luddites
Report to moderator   Logged
Fitz

---------------
I have reached a conclusion regarding every member of this forum.
I no longer respect any of you. I hope the following offends you as much as this thread has offended me:
You are all awful people. I mean this *expletive deleted*ing seriously.

-MicroBalrog

AJ Dual

  • friends
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 16,162
  • Shoe Ballistics Inc.
Re: NSA reportedly using radio waves to snoop on offline computers worldwide
« Reply #6 on: January 15, 2014, 01:03:01 PM »
Reminds me of the hysteria prison guards had over Kevin Mitnick, when they believed he could whistle Captian Crunch/2600 tones at a open phone from across the room, and launch nuclear missiles.
Report to moderator   Logged
I promise not to duck.

MechAg94

  • friend
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 33,787
Re: NSA reportedly using radio waves to snoop on offline computers worldwide
« Reply #7 on: January 15, 2014, 01:13:50 PM »
Quote from: RevDisk on January 15, 2014, 10:14:58 AM
Absolutely BS. I WISH it was true, it'd be friggin awesome to have that functionality built in.


This is covert transmitters, according to the NYT. Basically hiding small transmitters in USB cables, flash drives, etc. Not at the manufacturer level, apparently. Hell, that's been done for sixty years in various forms. I've seen Wifi enabled hardware keyloggers at Defcon for over a decade. You can now buy them online for about $100. Hell, they make keyboard keyloggers that look exactly OEM. The boards have the keylogger integrated in them, and it's pretty damn subtle. 3G, GSM or alternative frequency hardware keyloggers aren't exactly rocket surgery.

Meh, this is even more boring than covertly enabling WiFi on laptops.

Disappointing.



So I should turn my home office into a Faraday cage?
Report to moderator   Logged
“It is much more important to kill bad bills than to pass good ones.”  ― Calvin Coolidge

AJ Dual

  • friends
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 16,162
  • Shoe Ballistics Inc.
Re: NSA reportedly using radio waves to snoop on offline computers worldwide
« Reply #8 on: January 15, 2014, 01:18:45 PM »
Quote from: MechAg94 on January 15, 2014, 01:13:50 PM
So I should turn my home office into a Faraday cage?

No... I think you should make it into a sexy cage...  :-*

Because if you make your NSA case-worker cry, it's 10 points. Cry in the shower while scrubbing desperately, 15 points. Vomit, 25 points.
Report to moderator   Logged
I promise not to duck.

Ben

  • Administrator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 46,108
  • I'm an Extremist!
Re: NSA reportedly using radio waves to snoop on offline computers worldwide
« Reply #9 on: January 15, 2014, 04:20:18 PM »
Quote from: MechAg94 on January 15, 2014, 01:13:50 PM
So I should turn my home office into a Faraday cage?

The question is: Why is it not a Faraday cage already? :P
Report to moderator   Logged
"I'm a foolish old man that has been drawn into a wild goose chase by a harpy in trousers and a nincompoop."

RocketMan

  • Mad Rocket Scientist
  • friend
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 13,630
  • Semper Fidelis
Re: NSA reportedly using radio waves to snoop on offline computers worldwide
« Reply #10 on: January 15, 2014, 08:43:10 PM »
Okay, I wrapped my laptop completely in tinfoil.  What do I do next?
Report to moderator   Logged
If there really was intelligent life on other planets, we'd be sending them foreign aid.

Conservatives see George Orwell's "1984" as a cautionary tale.  Progressives view it as a "how to" manual.

My wife often says to me, "You are evil and must be destroyed." She may be right.

Liberals believe one should never let reason, logic and facts get in the way of a good emotional argument.

Jim147

  • friends
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 7,596
Re: NSA reportedly using radio waves to snoop on offline computers worldwide
« Reply #11 on: January 15, 2014, 09:00:51 PM »
Quote from: RocketMan on January 15, 2014, 08:43:10 PM
Okay, I wrapped my laptop completely in tinfoil.  What do I do next?

Put it in the microwave. Ten minutes should do it.

jim
Report to moderator   Logged
Sometimes we carry more weight then we owe.
And sometimes goes on and on and on.

BAH-WEEP-GRAAAGHNAH WHEEP NI-NI BONG

TechMan

  • Administrator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 10,562
  • Yes, your moderation has been outsourced.
Re: NSA reportedly using radio waves to snoop on offline computers worldwide
« Reply #12 on: January 15, 2014, 10:14:47 PM »
Quote from: Jim147 on January 15, 2014, 09:00:51 PM
Put it in the microwave. Ten minutes should do it.

jim

I heard it was fifteen minutes and a cup of water.
Report to moderator   Logged
Quote
Hawkmoon - Never underestimate another person's capacity for stupidity. Any time you think someone can't possibly be that dumb ... they'll prove you wrong.

Bacon and Eggs - A day's work for a chicken; A lifetime commitment for a pig.
Stupidity will always be its own reward.
Bad decisions make good stories.

Quote
Viking - The problem with the modern world is that there aren't really any predators eating stupid people.

Firethorn

  • friend
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 5,789
  • Where'd my explosive space modulator go?
Re: NSA reportedly using radio waves to snoop on offline computers worldwide
« Reply #13 on: January 16, 2014, 12:44:31 AM »
Quote from: RocketMan on January 15, 2014, 08:43:10 PM
Okay, I wrapped my laptop completely in tinfoil.  What do I do next?

Ah, that's why your laptop it broadcasting so loudly!  No need to shout, we can hear you just fine without the help.   [popcorn]
Report to moderator   Logged

bedlamite

  • Hold my beer and watch this!
  • friend
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 9,797
  • Ack! PLBTTPHBT!
Re: NSA reportedly using radio waves to snoop on offline computers worldwide
« Reply #14 on: January 16, 2014, 02:03:09 AM »
Firethorn, I think the NSA hacked your account.
Report to moderator   Logged
A plan is just a list of things that doesn't happen.
Is defenestration possible through the overton window?

Regolith

  • friend
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 6,171
Re: NSA reportedly using radio waves to snoop on offline computers worldwide
« Reply #15 on: January 16, 2014, 03:23:18 AM »
Quote from: AJ Dual on January 15, 2014, 01:18:45 PM
No... I think you should make it into a sexy cage...  :-*

Because if you make your NSA case-worker cry, it's 10 points. Cry in the shower while scrubbing desperately, 15 points. Vomit, 25 points.

What if you make them cry in the shower while desperately scrubbing off the vomit?
Report to moderator   Logged
The price of freedom is eternal vigilance. - Thomas Jefferson

Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves. - William Pitt the Younger

Perfectly symmetrical violence never solved anything. - Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth

Firethorn

  • friend
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 5,789
  • Where'd my explosive space modulator go?
Re: NSA reportedly using radio waves to snoop on offline computers worldwide
« Reply #16 on: January 16, 2014, 06:01:57 AM »
Quote from: bedlamite on January 16, 2014, 02:03:09 AM
Firethorn, I think the NSA hacked your account.

I was making a funny.   :angel:

Seriously:  TEMPEST
Report to moderator   Logged

AJ Dual

  • friends
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 16,162
  • Shoe Ballistics Inc.
Re: NSA reportedly using radio waves to snoop on offline computers worldwide
« Reply #17 on: January 16, 2014, 09:37:27 AM »
Quote from: Regolith on January 16, 2014, 03:23:18 AM
What if you make them cry in the shower while desperately scrubbing off the vomit?

You get a job offer. GS12, with benefits.
Report to moderator   Logged
I promise not to duck.
Pages: [1]
« previous next »