4 ms·

That story is a bit odd, still -- normally behind the connector there is optionally magnetics, and at least a PHY... being able to integrate the magnetics in th

That story is a bit odd, still -- normally behind the connector there is optionally magnetics, and at least a PHY... being able to integrate the magnetics in the connector exists allright, but adding the phy /as well/ must make it a marvel of integration regular manufacturers would dream of... especially at Gb speed! Also, you can't really 'piggyback' ethernet easily, for the same reasons; you would need TWO phy in there to decode/reencode... Even if you'd want to 'piggyback' on the link itself, it would be very, very difficult to say the least -- Gb ethernet is definitely not a gimme to synthesise, let alone piggyback. So, color me dubious -- the SPI 'chip' of last week was a but dubious but doable (given not just a custom chip, but a custom PCB) but this ethernet story makes even less sense!

jstanley 8y ago
Elsewhere in this thread there is an actual link to an actual NSA device that does exactly this. I don't think it's in the realm of science fiction.
- buserror 8y ago
  If you look at that illustration, you see that it's not just one ethernet connector, it's one of these massive connector stack with one ethernet and 2 USB, also, it adds quite a bit of depth to the connector; it must have been made with one particular brand/type of motherboard in mind. Still, if these are in the wild, then perhaps our chinese friends might have reduced the footprint even more to the size of one connector. I know the connectors with integrated magnetics are quite a bit 'longer' and 'beefier' than the passive ones.
  - monocasa 8y ago
    That's also at least a five year old implant since Snowden leaked it back in 2013.
    - kulahan 8y ago
      The wikipedia article on the device shows a date of 2008, so yeah, it's probably pretty outdated as far as spy tech is concerned.
  - tracker1 8y ago
    And you don't think such a device could be made quite a bit smaller today, with better manufacturing support? I'm thinking it's entirely plausible that such devices exist, and are broadly in the wild. Mostly targeted. That said, our own govt (US) is not innocent. Neither are China, Russia and many others. It's what government espionage actors do. I think it's a fault of many that US mfg has fallen off as much as it has, and that critical infrastructure would allow foreign mfg in general. Or at least final inspection and assembly internally. Not just the US, but most countries.
jlgaddis 8y ago
> Also, you can't really 'piggyback' ethernet easily, for the same reasons; you would need TWO phy in there to decode/reencode... Pretty much every BMC in existence (well, the ones that comply with the Data Center Manageability Interface, at least) can "piggyback" on top of an onboard Ethernet interface.
- jhallenworld 8y ago
  This works because the main PHY chip has a side channel (i.e., extra pins) for a connection to the BMC. There are not two PHYs for a single ethernet.

jstanley 8y ago

Elsewhere in this thread there is an actual link to an actual NSA device that does exactly this. I don't think it's in the realm of science fiction.

buserror 8y ago
If you look at that illustration, you see that it's not just one ethernet connector, it's one of these massive connector stack with one ethernet and 2 USB, also, it adds quite a bit of depth to the connector; it must have been made with one particular brand/type of motherboard in mind. Still, if these are in the wild, then perhaps our chinese friends might have reduced the footprint even more to the size of one connector. I know the connectors with integrated magnetics are quite a bit 'longer' and 'beefier' than the passive ones.
- monocasa 8y ago
  That's also at least a five year old implant since Snowden leaked it back in 2013.
  - kulahan 8y ago
    The wikipedia article on the device shows a date of 2008, so yeah, it's probably pretty outdated as far as spy tech is concerned.
- tracker1 8y ago
  And you don't think such a device could be made quite a bit smaller today, with better manufacturing support? I'm thinking it's entirely plausible that such devices exist, and are broadly in the wild. Mostly targeted. That said, our own govt (US) is not innocent. Neither are China, Russia and many others. It's what government espionage actors do. I think it's a fault of many that US mfg has fallen off as much as it has, and that critical infrastructure would allow foreign mfg in general. Or at least final inspection and assembly internally. Not just the US, but most countries.

jlgaddis 8y ago

> Also, you can't really 'piggyback' ethernet easily, for the same reasons; you would need TWO phy in there to decode/reencode... Pretty much every BMC in existence (well, the ones that comply with the Data Center Manageability Interface, at least) can "piggyback" on top of an onboard Ethernet interface.

jhallenworld 8y ago
This works because the main PHY chip has a side channel (i.e., extra pins) for a connection to the BMC. There are not two PHYs for a single ethernet.