3 ms·
I am assuming this would not be a vulnerability against a laptop that is turned off, with disk encryption? e.g. I leave my laptop, off, in a hotel room? (I do r
by javert 14y ago
I am assuming this would not be a vulnerability against a laptop that is turned off, with disk encryption? e.g. I leave my laptop, off, in a hotel room? (I do realize there are other vulns in that scenario, e.g., hotel maid puts in a new BIOS chip that contains a keylogger.)
- tjoff 14y agoNo, a laptop that is turned off is safe from this. And you don't really need something as tailored as a new BIOS chip, in most cases where you can boot from USB/Firewire/whatever you can just replace the bootloader with one that copies the password as you enter it. That's why you might want to have your bootloader on a USB stick or something that isn't available to the attacker even if he/she gets physical access. But that of course doesn't protect someone from altering the BIOS (or even, the firmware of your keyboard...). But it at least usually requires more effort. Or, one could be listening in by targeting a laser on a window nearby (and watch the reflections as the sound-waves propagate through the glass) and listen to your keystrokes, and based on statistics (gathered when you write HN posts ;)) figure out your password without even getting in the same room as the hardware. If someone has the resources and motivation to get your data he/she will probably be able to :(
- stcredzero 14y ago> If someone has the resources and motivation to get your data he/she will probably be able to :( Goes for anything else you "own." The real question is, how bad do they want it, what are the economics, and how does society at large feel about it?