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This could be turned into a really great security tool, akin to a deadman switch, which upon activation and incorrect use, deletes the contents of the users hom

This could be turned into a really great security tool, akin to a deadman switch, which upon activation and incorrect use, deletes the contents of the users home directory. Example. In Mate Desktop. the default terminal is Mate Terminal. Upon installation of Suicide Linux, Mate Terminal could be modified to delete the users home, but provide no warning that it is running. For the user, they could use another terminal program for their daily needs without fear of deleting their home. In the event that their laptop is seized or stolen an attacker may use the default terminal program ie, Mate Terminal which would then upon the issue of any command delete the users home folder If someone can make this I would install it

segfaultbuserr 6y ago
In this case, just "rm" everything is far from enough, it needs to be a secure deletion. And the best way to implement secure deletion is using full disk encryption, this way, instead of wiping the entire disk, you just need to wipe the header, which contains its master key. head -c 100000000 /dev/zero > /dev/sdX1; sync An even better solution is interfacing the motherboard with a small microcontroller and storing the master key in hardware (and possibly with a key-split algorithm, so compromising the hardware doesn't reveal the key, but its destruction will kill the key), such as a battery-backed SRAM or a hardware crypto chip. The self-destruction command would be an I/O request to wipe the chip. Tamper-switches can be placed at strategic physical locations around the machine. You can also write a deamon to monitor USB devices and trigger the self-destruction when an unknown device is detected, e.g. If your machine has been seized on-the-fly, the attacker is likely to plug an anti-screenlock USB mouse emulator, which triggers its self-destruction. The tricky part is balancing the degree of security protection and the risk of data destruction from a false-positive trigger...
- HashingtheCode 6y ago
  Is it possible to find the sourcecode? Edit: found it https://github.com/tiagoad/suicide-linux https://github.com/tiagoad/suicide-linux
- t0astbread 6y ago
  What's wrong with using FDE and entering the key manually on startup? You could then just shut down when you detect suspicious behavior and all is well or am I missing something?
  - segfaultbuserr 6y ago
    It depends on your threat model. The OP mentions bobby traps and self-destruction, so I assume the threat model here is not a typical model in personal computing, but a different one, which is similar to Dread Pirate Roberts' threat model, as explained below. Self destruction has two advantages, comparing to shutting down the system. First, once the encrypted master key in the header has been wiped, the data is gone, it's technically impossible to recover the data anymore (your passphrase is only the key to decrypt the master key in the header). On the other hand, revealing the passphrase under pressure is always a possibility. Second, when an attacker tries to seize your system, a possible strategy is seizing your system alive in a surprise attack, giving you no chance to shut the system down, and using an USB mouse emulator to defeat the screenlock. And the reason of using a hardware-backed key storage, is to prevent the clone of the encryption header (which makes the self-destruction useless), and to ensure the destruction of the key is complete. In modern SSDs, due to wear levelling, there's no guarantee that the physical sector the header belongs to is actually erased.
    - HashingtheCode 6y ago
      No need for a booby trap. Some guy tried to do that akin from the scene in Mr.Robot with limited success using thermix. The only success was using a shape charge inside a desktop, but that is not possible on a laptop. I like the idea of a USB dongle that is attached to the person which immediately locks the computer and erases the drive but the problem is that it takes time and law enforcement can just remove the battery to stop the erase (if battery is easily accessible). Erasing the headers on an encrypted drive seems quick and effective and the way to proceed. But if the technique is to use a USB dongle then we should also be able to modify the source code of Suicide Linux to do the same with the modified default terminal.
wang_li 6y ago
Hook it up to your WiFi driver so if your AP every goes away so does the evidence of whatever you’re trying to hide. But plug the computer and AP into the same UPS.

segfaultbuserr 6y ago

In this case, just "rm" everything is far from enough, it needs to be a secure deletion. And the best way to implement secure deletion is using full disk encryption, this way, instead of wiping the entire disk, you just need to wipe the header, which contains its master key. head -c 100000000 /dev/zero > /dev/sdX1; sync An even better solution is interfacing the motherboard with a small microcontroller and storing the master key in hardware (and possibly with a key-split algorithm, so compromising the hardware doesn't reveal the key, but its destruction will kill the key), such as a battery-backed SRAM or a hardware crypto chip. The self-destruction command would be an I/O request to wipe the chip. Tamper-switches can be placed at strategic physical locations around the machine. You can also write a deamon to monitor USB devices and trigger the self-destruction when an unknown device is detected, e.g. If your machine has been seized on-the-fly, the attacker is likely to plug an anti-screenlock USB mouse emulator, which triggers its self-destruction. The tricky part is balancing the degree of security protection and the risk of data destruction from a false-positive trigger...

HashingtheCode 6y ago
Is it possible to find the sourcecode? Edit: found it https://github.com/tiagoad/suicide-linux https://github.com/tiagoad/suicide-linux
t0astbread 6y ago
What's wrong with using FDE and entering the key manually on startup? You could then just shut down when you detect suspicious behavior and all is well or am I missing something?
- segfaultbuserr 6y ago
  It depends on your threat model. The OP mentions bobby traps and self-destruction, so I assume the threat model here is not a typical model in personal computing, but a different one, which is similar to Dread Pirate Roberts' threat model, as explained below. Self destruction has two advantages, comparing to shutting down the system. First, once the encrypted master key in the header has been wiped, the data is gone, it's technically impossible to recover the data anymore (your passphrase is only the key to decrypt the master key in the header). On the other hand, revealing the passphrase under pressure is always a possibility. Second, when an attacker tries to seize your system, a possible strategy is seizing your system alive in a surprise attack, giving you no chance to shut the system down, and using an USB mouse emulator to defeat the screenlock. And the reason of using a hardware-backed key storage, is to prevent the clone of the encryption header (which makes the self-destruction useless), and to ensure the destruction of the key is complete. In modern SSDs, due to wear levelling, there's no guarantee that the physical sector the header belongs to is actually erased.
  - HashingtheCode 6y ago
    No need for a booby trap. Some guy tried to do that akin from the scene in Mr.Robot with limited success using thermix. The only success was using a shape charge inside a desktop, but that is not possible on a laptop. I like the idea of a USB dongle that is attached to the person which immediately locks the computer and erases the drive but the problem is that it takes time and law enforcement can just remove the battery to stop the erase (if battery is easily accessible). Erasing the headers on an encrypted drive seems quick and effective and the way to proceed. But if the technique is to use a USB dongle then we should also be able to modify the source code of Suicide Linux to do the same with the modified default terminal.

wang_li 6y ago

Hook it up to your WiFi driver so if your AP every goes away so does the evidence of whatever you’re trying to hide. But plug the computer and AP into the same UPS.