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Ghostbuster: Detecting the Presence of Hidden Eavesdroppers [pdf]
- bcaa7f3a8bbc 8y agoBasically, using side-channel RF leakage to eavesdrop the eavesdropper who uses your side-channel RF leakage to eavesdrop you... Reminded me the old "radar-detector-detector detector" hoax edit from Wikipedia (https://www.reddit.com/r/wikipedia/comments/4a3tfm/in_1982_the_us_military_funded_a_project/ https://www.reddit.com/r/wikipedia/comments/4a3tfm/in_1982_t...). But unlike other EM side-channel attack, RF local-oscillator leakage is a historically known attack vector since WW2. > This RF leakage, however, is extremely weak and buried under noise and other transmitted signals that can be 3-5 orders of magnitude larger. Hence, it is missed by today’s radios. We design and build Ghostbuster, the first device that can reliably extract this leakage, even when it is buried under ongoing transmissions, in order to detect the hidden presence of eavesdroppers.
- pentestercrab 8y agoAnyone interested in this should read the book Spycatcher[1]. It covers a bit of this and was even banned in certain countries. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spycatcher https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spycatcher
- NeedMoreTea 8y agoBanned so publicly that it was regularly on the evening news, and so was a roaring success.
- bcaa7f3a8bbc 8y agoThe Thing [2] is also worth reading. Soviet Union was well-aware that RF/LO leakage was being constantly monitored by the NSA, so they made a passive eavesdropping device in 1945, that didn't use a power supply. Instead, when eavesdropping was needed, an agent near the field would transmit an unmodulated carrier wave at 330 MHz, which was received by The Thing with an antenna and tuned circuit, thus activates the device. The recording is then rebroadcasted at a higher harmonic frequency. When the device is inactive, it's almost impossible to detect. [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thing_(listening_device) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thing_(listening_device)
- mxuribe 8y agoI remember when i first heard of this, i was so amazed at the cleverness of the whole thing.
- godelmachine 8y agoThe Thing is also known as "The Great Seal Bug".
- pwned1 8y agoWould just putting the device in a little faraday cage mitigate this?
- godelmachine 8y agoI too have the same question. But even if it were to work in a Faraday Cage, the real life application would be really tough to implement. Owing to the fact that → 1) We don’t know how big the Cage should be. 2) There could be possibly many benign gadgets in the Cage’s sphere which could be unnecessarily affected.
- bcaa7f3a8bbc 8y agoGood question. What if the eavesdropping device has TEMPEST certification, or is it possible to design one...