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I suspect that means someone is supposed to find that transformer. Presumably there may be something of interest with/in/near it. Its easy to hide a microSD

by madmaze 16y ago

Pyrodogg 16y ago
This sounds more reasonable than thinking that they photos are showing eavesdropping devices.
cag_ii 16y ago
Presumably? If these photos were taken for proof/evidence they just don't cut it, especially coming from a security specialist/professional. ... Or, they could just be a photos of a shoddy light fixture installation.
- fooandbarify 16y ago
  I think that's sort of madmaze's point - the presumption being that the photos do indeed come from Danchev and that he is not crazy.
  - ZoFreX 16y ago
    Spy devices are small, right? That's kind of the point. He said that someone might have hidden something small nearby, but if the real thing is small and hidden... why draw attention to it in the first place with a transformer? It doesn't make sense that "it was supposed to be found", as it alerts him to the fact that something's going on. He would be far from the first geek to be overly paranoid.
    - fooandbarify 16y ago
      The suggestion is that Danchev purposely sent a picture of what is obviously a large transformer hoping or knowing that it would mean something to someone - that the image itself is a message of some sort. I don't think anybody is suggesting that someone "covertly" installed a large transformer in Danchev's quarters to disguise a smaller device nearby. You're right, it is of course possible that something is getting overanalyzed as we geeks are prone to do, but in the face of what is possibly a bad situation it's worth considering the worst case scenario.
- ZoFreX 16y ago
  They ARE photos of a shoddy light fixture installation... that is, unless government spying devices are dimmable! The full text of the image once rotated reads: ELECTRONIC TRANSFORMER MODEL: TE-60 (20-60W) PRI: 220-240V, 50Hz, CosΦ=0,99 SEC: 11,6V, max. 4.9A Ta: max. 50°C, Tc: max. 85°C GTV (R) Dimmable EMC Approved Surge Protection Overload Protection Short Circuit Protection Symbols: CE, double insulated, don't throw away, and some I don't know. I can't find it on Google, though.
  - cag_ii 16y ago
    That is very obviously what the photos appear to be. The discussion here is about whether, as the article claims, there is something else evident/hidden in these photographs.
    - jonah 16y ago
      From what's visible in the second photo, things look fairly legit (albeit shoddy) if the power feed is coming through the wall at the center of the image and the transformer is on the left below the ledge and the wires to/from it are going down through the hole and the wires heading out of the frame to the left are simply a splice between the feed line and the leads on the transformer. Now if he cracked open the transformer and found a transmitter hidden inside - then it might get interesting...
  - jacquesm 16y ago
    That transformer is a standard fixture for halogen lights, which are the little circular items with the spring clips.
- updog 16y ago
  Could it have been a formerly-proper light fixture installation that had a power wire borrowed to power a recording device? If I was going to bug someone for a long time, I would not run new wires. I would piggyback off of some other low power device. He could have gone searching after they removed everything, and looked for something that was spliced. On the other hand, I would not bug a bathroom. That seems like the worst place to bug.
  - updog 16y ago
    Changing my vote. I think the guy is nuts and/or running away. Stuff doesn't add up. -He claims a particular LEO is after him for pro-western views. This is the hardest hit to his credibility. If he said that botnet authors came after him for outing them, that might be plausible. The Belgian government does not hunt and 'disappear' pro-western people. -There is no stego in this image like some have suggested. If it was in a letter, there is no data to be read. If it did not come from a latter, it was taken recently, according to the metadata. Also, if he is making direct accusations, he is not hiding information. Either the whole message would be cryptic, or none of it. If he isn't afraid to name the guy, he wouldn't be afraid to plainly state that he found a recording device or whatever else. -He acts like the image has a smoking gun, and it does not. -He has never had a real, credible job in the industry. See his LinkedIn: http://nl.linkedin.com/in/danchodanchev http://nl.linkedin.com/in/danchodanchev It's either blogging, or "secret companies". And astalavista, which was warez/script kid forums and stuff. -His blog is completely full of "cyber jihad" research and discussion of "cyber terrorist" nonsense. http://ddanchev.blogspot.com/ http://ddanchev.blogspot.com/
    - fooandbarify 16y ago
      Belgium != Bulgaria The rest of what you said makes sense, and it is possible that this is a script kid trying to make a name for himself - I would be very weary about making that assumption though without more serious evidence.
      - mikkohypponen 16y ago
        Dancho is not a "script kid". I met him in September in a meeting for international law enforcement. He was lecturing.
crocowhile 16y ago
Either that or some form of steganography is the pics were sent as digital and not paper forms.
catshirt 16y ago
This could also explain why "current situation in my bathroom" is in quotes.

I suspect that means someone is supposed to find that transformer. Presumably there may be something of interest with/in/near it. Its easy to hide a microSD

by madmaze 16y ago

I suspect that means someone is supposed to find that transformer. Presumably there may be something of interest with/in/near it. Its easy to hide a microSD

Pyrodogg 16y ago

This sounds more reasonable than thinking that they photos are showing eavesdropping devices.

cag_ii 16y ago

Presumably? If these photos were taken for proof/evidence they just don't cut it, especially coming from a security specialist/professional. ... Or, they could just be a photos of a shoddy light fixture installation.

fooandbarify 16y ago
I think that's sort of madmaze's point - the presumption being that the photos do indeed come from Danchev and that he is not crazy.
- ZoFreX 16y ago
  Spy devices are small, right? That's kind of the point. He said that someone might have hidden something small nearby, but if the real thing is small and hidden... why draw attention to it in the first place with a transformer? It doesn't make sense that "it was supposed to be found", as it alerts him to the fact that something's going on. He would be far from the first geek to be overly paranoid.
  - fooandbarify 16y ago
    The suggestion is that Danchev purposely sent a picture of what is obviously a large transformer hoping or knowing that it would mean something to someone - that the image itself is a message of some sort. I don't think anybody is suggesting that someone "covertly" installed a large transformer in Danchev's quarters to disguise a smaller device nearby. You're right, it is of course possible that something is getting overanalyzed as we geeks are prone to do, but in the face of what is possibly a bad situation it's worth considering the worst case scenario.
ZoFreX 16y ago
They ARE photos of a shoddy light fixture installation... that is, unless government spying devices are dimmable! The full text of the image once rotated reads: ELECTRONIC TRANSFORMER MODEL: TE-60 (20-60W) PRI: 220-240V, 50Hz, CosΦ=0,99 SEC: 11,6V, max. 4.9A Ta: max. 50°C, Tc: max. 85°C GTV (R) Dimmable EMC Approved Surge Protection Overload Protection Short Circuit Protection Symbols: CE, double insulated, don't throw away, and some I don't know. I can't find it on Google, though.
- cag_ii 16y ago
  That is very obviously what the photos appear to be. The discussion here is about whether, as the article claims, there is something else evident/hidden in these photographs.
  - jonah 16y ago
    From what's visible in the second photo, things look fairly legit (albeit shoddy) if the power feed is coming through the wall at the center of the image and the transformer is on the left below the ledge and the wires to/from it are going down through the hole and the wires heading out of the frame to the left are simply a splice between the feed line and the leads on the transformer. Now if he cracked open the transformer and found a transmitter hidden inside - then it might get interesting...
- jacquesm 16y ago
  That transformer is a standard fixture for halogen lights, which are the little circular items with the spring clips.
updog 16y ago
Could it have been a formerly-proper light fixture installation that had a power wire borrowed to power a recording device? If I was going to bug someone for a long time, I would not run new wires. I would piggyback off of some other low power device. He could have gone searching after they removed everything, and looked for something that was spliced. On the other hand, I would not bug a bathroom. That seems like the worst place to bug.
- updog 16y ago
  Changing my vote. I think the guy is nuts and/or running away. Stuff doesn't add up. -He claims a particular LEO is after him for pro-western views. This is the hardest hit to his credibility. If he said that botnet authors came after him for outing them, that might be plausible. The Belgian government does not hunt and 'disappear' pro-western people. -There is no stego in this image like some have suggested. If it was in a letter, there is no data to be read. If it did not come from a latter, it was taken recently, according to the metadata. Also, if he is making direct accusations, he is not hiding information. Either the whole message would be cryptic, or none of it. If he isn't afraid to name the guy, he wouldn't be afraid to plainly state that he found a recording device or whatever else. -He acts like the image has a smoking gun, and it does not. -He has never had a real, credible job in the industry. See his LinkedIn: http://nl.linkedin.com/in/danchodanchev http://nl.linkedin.com/in/danchodanchev It's either blogging, or "secret companies". And astalavista, which was warez/script kid forums and stuff. -His blog is completely full of "cyber jihad" research and discussion of "cyber terrorist" nonsense. http://ddanchev.blogspot.com/ http://ddanchev.blogspot.com/
  - fooandbarify 16y ago
    Belgium != Bulgaria The rest of what you said makes sense, and it is possible that this is a script kid trying to make a name for himself - I would be very weary about making that assumption though without more serious evidence.
    - mikkohypponen 16y ago
      Dancho is not a "script kid". I met him in September in a meeting for international law enforcement. He was lecturing.

crocowhile 16y ago

Either that or some form of steganography is the pics were sent as digital and not paper forms.

catshirt 16y ago

This could also explain why "current situation in my bathroom" is in quotes.