3 ms·

This is not exactly that - this is the use of a SATA bus as an RF radiator to do a (very slow) covert exfiltration channel from an air-gapped computer.

cogman10 4y ago
Yeah... but I mean, if the computer is in a steel/aluminum box (likely) then both the distances and locations you can be to be able to intercept that 6ghz signal are pretty limited. It's a neat attack, but to pull it off you pretty much need both physical access AND the ability to install virused software on the target. Perhaps something the CIA/NSA pull off such as stuxnet? Even then, the point of an air-gapped computer is that installing such software would be pretty difficult in the first place.
- thrashh 4y ago
  I mean if the stakes were high enough If I told you that you could make 500 million dollars (after taxes) if you figured this out, suddenly you would be on top of this. The stakes of Stuxnet was probably “the safety of the free world” in the eyes of the people who paid for the work
  - cogman10 4y ago
    I don't mean that the attack isn't possible/wouldn't necessarily work. I'm saying it's impractical given that one of the steps to execute it is "have physical access to the machine, the ability to install software, and time to sit around and record the outbound data (or to be able to revisit the site and collect a recording device)." With each of those requirements, there are easier and faster ways to get data off a machine. If you can install software you can likely download data that software would access. If you can access the machine twice and install software that runs in the background between visits, you can install your keylogger/data collectors and simply record the data on the device. Stuxnet wasn't about getting data out of the machine, it was about breaking machines. It worked well because it didn't require physical access to the machines. It spread as a virus through the regular updates that Iran was doing for their machines. If you had such a stuxnet virus in your back pocket, then you can likely steal the data and record it back on the USB device (or any plugged in USB device) on the system.
    - thrashh 4y ago
      I was more referring to Stuxnet as an example of someone who is willing to spend the money on people to figure out some obscure techniques Spy agencies have definitely used obscure data exfiltration techniques and they can afford spies.

cogman10 4y ago

Yeah... but I mean, if the computer is in a steel/aluminum box (likely) then both the distances and locations you can be to be able to intercept that 6ghz signal are pretty limited. It's a neat attack, but to pull it off you pretty much need both physical access AND the ability to install virused software on the target. Perhaps something the CIA/NSA pull off such as stuxnet? Even then, the point of an air-gapped computer is that installing such software would be pretty difficult in the first place.

thrashh 4y ago
I mean if the stakes were high enough If I told you that you could make 500 million dollars (after taxes) if you figured this out, suddenly you would be on top of this. The stakes of Stuxnet was probably “the safety of the free world” in the eyes of the people who paid for the work
- cogman10 4y ago
  I don't mean that the attack isn't possible/wouldn't necessarily work. I'm saying it's impractical given that one of the steps to execute it is "have physical access to the machine, the ability to install software, and time to sit around and record the outbound data (or to be able to revisit the site and collect a recording device)." With each of those requirements, there are easier and faster ways to get data off a machine. If you can install software you can likely download data that software would access. If you can access the machine twice and install software that runs in the background between visits, you can install your keylogger/data collectors and simply record the data on the device. Stuxnet wasn't about getting data out of the machine, it was about breaking machines. It worked well because it didn't require physical access to the machines. It spread as a virus through the regular updates that Iran was doing for their machines. If you had such a stuxnet virus in your back pocket, then you can likely steal the data and record it back on the USB device (or any plugged in USB device) on the system.
  - thrashh 4y ago
    I was more referring to Stuxnet as an example of someone who is willing to spend the money on people to figure out some obscure techniques Spy agencies have definitely used obscure data exfiltration techniques and they can afford spies.