3 ms·

Microdots in the Intercept NSA leaks expose printer serial and timestamp

48 points by ryanlol 9y ago

flashman 9y ago
More on the method: http://blog.erratasec.com/2017/06/how-intercept-outed-reality-winner.html http://blog.erratasec.com/2017/06/how-intercept-outed-realit...
ryanlol 9y ago
This seems like incredibly bad OPSEC from The Intercept. It's obvious that the leaker fucked up big time here and would most likely been caught just based on her own mistakes, but you'd hope that a publication with such a track record of publishing high profile leaks would make a better effort to protect its sources than sending watermarked documents directly to other government employees to confirm. Really not sure if they'll be able to recover from this.
- PietdeVries 9y ago
  So I've been strugling a bit with how this went... She downloaded/retrieved a document, then printed it, then scanned it again and mailed it to The Intercept? Some stories claim she was caught because access to the document was logged, others point to the dots and printer logging. But printing a document and then scanning it again would not make sense, would it?
  - ryanlol 9y ago
    >She downloaded/retrieved a document, then printed it, then scanned it again and mailed it to The Intercept? I think that's just people misunderstanding the "mailed", it really means physical mail here. >Some stories claim she was caught because access to the document was logged, others point to the dots and printer logging. The legal paperwork claims that she was caught due to the audit logs and her previous unrelated communications with The Intercept. I don't believe there's any reason to doubt that, the dots probably didn't play a part there. >But printing a document and then scanning it again would not make sense, would it? The document was probably just printed and mailed.
NamTaf 9y ago
Per the other discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14494818 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14494818 She was 1 of 6 to print it, and emailed the Intercept from her own work email address. Forensic dots weren't needed, she was just incompetent at covering her tracks.
RichardHeart 9y ago
I wonder how many other places in life have little yellow dots we haven't been told about.
- mr_overalls 9y ago
  Manufacturers who insert a RFID tag inside tires: Michelin and its brand BF Goodrich: http://www.rfidjournal.com/articles/view?269 http://www.rfidjournal.com/articles/view?269 Goodyear tires: http://www.rfid-ready.com/201202156319/goodyear-integrates-rfid-tags-in-truck-tires.html http://www.rfid-ready.com/201202156319/goodyear-integrates-r... Bridgestone tires: http://www.tirereview.com/rfid-today-tomorrow-yesterday/ http://www.tirereview.com/rfid-today-tomorrow-yesterday/ Komho tires manufactured in Korea: http://www.rfidjournal.com/articles/view?10880/2 http://www.rfidjournal.com/articles/view?10880/2 Cooper tires: http://www.freepatentsonline.com/8231060.html http://www.freepatentsonline.com/8231060.html http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7443301.html http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7443301.html Continental tires: http://www.rfidjournal.com/articles/view?8338 http://www.rfidjournal.com/articles/view?8338 Pirelli tires: http://www.cnet.com/news/pirelli-microchipped-cyber-tyre-improves-safety-performance/# http://www.cnet.com/news/pirelli-microchipped-cyber-tyre-imp...!
- mr_overalls 9y ago
  RFIDs in clothing are commonplace: http://www.whitewaycleaners.com/Uniform-Services/RFID-Garment-Tracking/ http://www.whitewaycleaners.com/Uniform-Services/RFID-Garmen...
- mr_overalls 9y ago
  According to this EFF article: 1. Social Media Monitoring 2. Automated License Plate Readers 3. Automatic Toll Readers 4. Surveillance Cameras 5. Biometrics 6. IMSI Catchers https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2015/10/6-spooky-ways-local-law-enforcement-watching-you https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2015/10/6-spooky-ways-local-la...
- mr_overalls 9y ago
  Since 2007, all US passports have embedded RFID. http://www.sacbee.com/news/business/personal-finance/claudia-buck/article2599038.html http://www.sacbee.com/news/business/personal-finance/claudia...

48 points by ryanlol 9y ago

More on the method: http://blog.erratasec.com/2017/06/how-intercept-outed-reality-winner.html http://blog.erratasec.com/2017/06/how-intercept-outed-realit...

ryanlol 9y ago

This seems like incredibly bad OPSEC from The Intercept. It's obvious that the leaker fucked up big time here and would most likely been caught just based on her own mistakes, but you'd hope that a publication with such a track record of publishing high profile leaks would make a better effort to protect its sources than sending watermarked documents directly to other government employees to confirm. Really not sure if they'll be able to recover from this.

PietdeVries 9y ago
So I've been strugling a bit with how this went... She downloaded/retrieved a document, then printed it, then scanned it again and mailed it to The Intercept? Some stories claim she was caught because access to the document was logged, others point to the dots and printer logging. But printing a document and then scanning it again would not make sense, would it?
- ryanlol 9y ago
  >She downloaded/retrieved a document, then printed it, then scanned it again and mailed it to The Intercept? I think that's just people misunderstanding the "mailed", it really means physical mail here. >Some stories claim she was caught because access to the document was logged, others point to the dots and printer logging. The legal paperwork claims that she was caught due to the audit logs and her previous unrelated communications with The Intercept. I don't believe there's any reason to doubt that, the dots probably didn't play a part there. >But printing a document and then scanning it again would not make sense, would it? The document was probably just printed and mailed.

NamTaf 9y ago

Per the other discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14494818 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14494818 She was 1 of 6 to print it, and emailed the Intercept from her own work email address. Forensic dots weren't needed, she was just incompetent at covering her tracks.

RichardHeart 9y ago

I wonder how many other places in life have little yellow dots we haven't been told about.

mr_overalls 9y ago
Manufacturers who insert a RFID tag inside tires: Michelin and its brand BF Goodrich: http://www.rfidjournal.com/articles/view?269 http://www.rfidjournal.com/articles/view?269 Goodyear tires: http://www.rfid-ready.com/201202156319/goodyear-integrates-rfid-tags-in-truck-tires.html http://www.rfid-ready.com/201202156319/goodyear-integrates-r... Bridgestone tires: http://www.tirereview.com/rfid-today-tomorrow-yesterday/ http://www.tirereview.com/rfid-today-tomorrow-yesterday/ Komho tires manufactured in Korea: http://www.rfidjournal.com/articles/view?10880/2 http://www.rfidjournal.com/articles/view?10880/2 Cooper tires: http://www.freepatentsonline.com/8231060.html http://www.freepatentsonline.com/8231060.html http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7443301.html http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7443301.html Continental tires: http://www.rfidjournal.com/articles/view?8338 http://www.rfidjournal.com/articles/view?8338 Pirelli tires: http://www.cnet.com/news/pirelli-microchipped-cyber-tyre-improves-safety-performance/# http://www.cnet.com/news/pirelli-microchipped-cyber-tyre-imp...!
mr_overalls 9y ago
RFIDs in clothing are commonplace: http://www.whitewaycleaners.com/Uniform-Services/RFID-Garment-Tracking/ http://www.whitewaycleaners.com/Uniform-Services/RFID-Garmen...
mr_overalls 9y ago
According to this EFF article: 1. Social Media Monitoring 2. Automated License Plate Readers 3. Automatic Toll Readers 4. Surveillance Cameras 5. Biometrics 6. IMSI Catchers https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2015/10/6-spooky-ways-local-law-enforcement-watching-you https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2015/10/6-spooky-ways-local-la...
mr_overalls 9y ago
Since 2007, all US passports have embedded RFID. http://www.sacbee.com/news/business/personal-finance/claudia-buck/article2599038.html http://www.sacbee.com/news/business/personal-finance/claudia...