“Hacking Air – Gapped Networks”, this article blew my mind. The level at which these researchers and ethical hackers used to exfiltrate data from pc’s isolated from the internet is unbelievable. They were able to collect data using acoustic sounds, electromagnetic waves, sound waves and even heat emissions generated by the pc’s. The sole purpose of implementing an air gap network is to ensure your network is secure and out of reach from an unsecure network. I would have never imagine using the above methods to capture information such as encryption keys, usernames and password in such a manner.
This article was really an eye opener and just made this class even more exciting/interesting to be in.
http://resources.infosecinstitute.com/hacking-air-gapped-networks/
Thanks for this post Wayne. Like you I was a little blown away from the article. I learned two things from this article; what an air-gap network/computer is and how they can be compromised. I guess that completely isolating your computer from unsecured networks and internet doesn’t mean it is completely secured. I knew that components on your computer emits heat and radio signals but being able to collect, analyze, and decode that information with cheap tools and devices is news to me.
Thanks for sharing Wayne. I liked the youtube video that was referenced in the article (and some of the comments from the youtube). A lot of folks felt that the BitWhisper proof of concept was impractical because it assumes that the attacker gained physical access, installed software on both computers, knowledge of thermal properties, etc.
However, I do agree that the threat is real. It is so real that Tempest standards are published by the NSA and certifications are provided by NATO on information systems spying methods and protections. These include the use of Faraday cages to block electrical emissions and prevent them from being intercepted.
A Faraday cage is a more sophisticated method of preventing interception of emissions, but there are many other practical physical and logical access controls that can be implemented to reduce the risk of an attack like this. The level of investment all depends on the classification and the risk associated with the data you are trying to protect.
Some of this stuff goes back forty plus years. If you look up “tempest” you will see the military was worried about leakage from electronic systems for a very long time.
This article makes me want to keep all critical servers either in space or deep in the ocean. That seems like only safe method to defend against this style of vulnerability. I do remember reading that Microsoft was working on underwater servers called Natick. These can be deployed just off the coast and last for years ideally. The hacker would probably have to learn how to SCUBA but I doubt their devices would work down there with them.