4 ms·

Both of the photos are confusing, but the photo depicting the wires more so. If you count the wires it seems right until you notice that the hacked up blue and

Both of the photos are confusing, but the photo depicting the wires more so. If you count the wires it seems right until you notice that the hacked up blue and white wires are not going to the lighting device at all. Or where the power (phase/neutral) are coming from. They go out of the frame to the left, instead. I'm not sure what I'm looking at, but it looks like something is in the wall that requires power. A couple of things come to mind: - The man might be paranoid and mistook sloppy electrical work for evidence of ... something funny? A threat? I tend to think this is unlikely, as he's a security researcher and probably pretty well versed in these things. If he found a bug, taking a picture of it wouldn't mean anything. - He's being extremely careful and photographed something that would only mean something to someone specific. - The two wires that are kludged together seem to go into the wall. The white side is taped to what looks like standard romex, which seems to be where the phase/neutral for the lighting fixture comes from, but those wires travel outside of the frame to who knows where. - The blue wire that's exposed doesn't look like CAT-5, but the color of the shielding is the same color as some bulk CAT-5 used in construction, though joining the wires under that blue tape seems like a really bad way to connect two exposed ends. I'm leaning towards it not being data cable, but being simple copper wire. Which, yes, could carry data. - It's unlikely that the images contain information that would be easily deciphered. It's an in-case-of-emergency-break-glass message and it's not explicit as to what these images mean. It's probably intentional. Anyway, fascinating story and I really hope this guy stays safe. Espionage and cyber crime are huge industries full of all sorts of bad actors.

foenix 16y ago
One more note about the wiring, it seems to be outside of a bathroom or bathtub of some sort. Note the toilet paper and its reflection in the tile. I don't know if that's helpful, but it's good to understand all of the details; thanks for your analysis, elbrodeur.
- aquarin 16y ago
  It is not outside the bathroom, this is the lighting in the bathroom above the mirror above the water tap. You see the paper mirrored in the mirror.
A1kmm 16y ago
One interpretation of the wiring: * Wires coming through the wall are mains voltage. * Exposed wire is ground, the other two are active and neutral. They connect to two white wires. * These two active and neutral wires are connected to two white wires running into the transformer at the left of the photo (although you can't tell whether anything else is connected left of there). * A black double-insulated wire comes out of the transformer, and a brown and blue wire come out of the double insulation. * The brown and blue wires go into the first connector box, which connects via the black double wire to the second connector box. * Two white double wires come out of the second connector box, one going to each light. GTV seems like it was a transformer manufacturer - it had a US trademark on the name for manufacturing many things until 2008, including for "electric transformers for lighting lamps". One weird thing: the transformer purports to be a step-down transformer, but the black cable with blue and brown wires (standard colours for mains active and neutral) connects to the low voltage end, when it is probably supposed to connect to the mains end. It is almost as if the step-down transformer is being used as a step-up transformer. The transformer ratio is between 220V/11.6V and 240V/11.6V - so about 20. 240V*20 = 4800V. If it was configured to produce 4800V on an easily accessible light, perhaps he is trying to say that someone was trying to electrocute him. Update: I found this, which I think is a more recent model of a similar transformer, from the same manufacturer: http://gemini-technology.en.alibaba.com/productshowimg/303458927-210014618/12V_60W_Coffee_Color_Waterproof_LED_Driver.html http://gemini-technology.en.alibaba.com/productshowimg/30345... - this seems to confirm that the black double insulated wire is supposed to be the 240V input, not the low voltage output.

foenix 16y ago

One more note about the wiring, it seems to be outside of a bathroom or bathtub of some sort. Note the toilet paper and its reflection in the tile. I don't know if that's helpful, but it's good to understand all of the details; thanks for your analysis, elbrodeur.

aquarin 16y ago
It is not outside the bathroom, this is the lighting in the bathroom above the mirror above the water tap. You see the paper mirrored in the mirror.

A1kmm 16y ago

One interpretation of the wiring: * Wires coming through the wall are mains voltage. * Exposed wire is ground, the other two are active and neutral. They connect to two white wires. * These two active and neutral wires are connected to two white wires running into the transformer at the left of the photo (although you can't tell whether anything else is connected left of there). * A black double-insulated wire comes out of the transformer, and a brown and blue wire come out of the double insulation. * The brown and blue wires go into the first connector box, which connects via the black double wire to the second connector box. * Two white double wires come out of the second connector box, one going to each light. GTV seems like it was a transformer manufacturer - it had a US trademark on the name for manufacturing many things until 2008, including for "electric transformers for lighting lamps". One weird thing: the transformer purports to be a step-down transformer, but the black cable with blue and brown wires (standard colours for mains active and neutral) connects to the low voltage end, when it is probably supposed to connect to the mains end. It is almost as if the step-down transformer is being used as a step-up transformer. The transformer ratio is between 220V/11.6V and 240V/11.6V - so about 20. 240V*20 = 4800V. If it was configured to produce 4800V on an easily accessible light, perhaps he is trying to say that someone was trying to electrocute him. Update: I found this, which I think is a more recent model of a similar transformer, from the same manufacturer: http://gemini-technology.en.alibaba.com/productshowimg/303458927-210014618/12V_60W_Coffee_Color_Waterproof_LED_Driver.html http://gemini-technology.en.alibaba.com/productshowimg/30345... - this seems to confirm that the black double insulated wire is supposed to be the 240V input, not the low voltage output.