3 ms·

There are lots of attempts at humor in the comments. So far, the BBC reporting just says, "State-owned channel Rossiya 24" reported something, without any BBC r

There are lots of attempts at humor in the comments. So far, the BBC reporting just says, "State-owned channel Rossiya 24" reported something, without any BBC reporter claiming to have independently verified the reports from Russia. Maybe this isn't a true fact about the world. It might be Russian official media paranoia, or some kind of hoax, or some kind of misunderstanding of a legitimate product feature. Until this story is better verified, I will go right on ironing my clothes. Are there specific brand names or lot numbers of the products available to reporters in other places who could verify (or disconfirm) this story?

mikecane 13y ago
The original Russian report is typically fractured by Google Translate: http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=ru&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rosbalt.ru%2Fpiter%2F2013%2F10%2F22%2F1190990.html http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=ru&tl=en&js=n&prev=... I think this is something where shipments specifically headed to Russia were targeted. But that's not to say it can't pop up elsewhere. [typo edit]
- pavel_lishin 13y ago
  I'm having a hard time believing that they detected some of the microchips by comparing the listed shipment weights with the actual shipment weights.
  - TrainedMonkey 13y ago
    Let us imagine a hypothetical scenario. Two identical shipments are weighted at the same scale during customs. One of them is consistently 0.05% heavier than expected. Then you notice same pattern with a few more shipments. An inquiring mind might wanna open a few boxes and see what is up. *Typoed
    - mikecane 13y ago
      Weight is likely taken very seriously by any Customs department due to drug smuggling. And these days, much more malevolent items.
      - cgore 13y ago
        Another good reason for irons, they are a bit heftier than a lot of other small goods, giving less variance from the weight of a small chip.
- gcb0 13y ago
  Why irons though? i remember a classic demo at one conference where they used a PSU. It had some advantages: 99% certain it will be used near a computer. USB and Ethernet ports for "power surge protection" that can add attack vectors. the only reason i can think of for irons is either lack of other opportunities, or trying to be as inconspicuous as possible (tech savy people are more prone to opening a PSU than an iron)
  - pbhjpbhj 13y ago
    >* remember a classic demo at one conference where they used a PSU.* // Wifi from inside a grounded PSU casing inside a (possibly metal) PC casing doesn't sound like something that's going to work very well?
    - gcb0 13y ago
      all UPSs i had were plastic cases. ah, sorry... i wrote PSU... my bad. not a PSU, but one of those UPS, or no-break. more specifically the APC ones that are cheap and have USB data port and Ethernet/modem filtering.
  - marcosvpj 13y ago
    Well, who wound think that the iron are sending spam?

mikecane 13y ago

The original Russian report is typically fractured by Google Translate: http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=ru&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rosbalt.ru%2Fpiter%2F2013%2F10%2F22%2F1190990.html http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=ru&tl=en&js=n&prev=... I think this is something where shipments specifically headed to Russia were targeted. But that's not to say it can't pop up elsewhere. [typo edit]

pavel_lishin 13y ago
I'm having a hard time believing that they detected some of the microchips by comparing the listed shipment weights with the actual shipment weights.
- TrainedMonkey 13y ago
  Let us imagine a hypothetical scenario. Two identical shipments are weighted at the same scale during customs. One of them is consistently 0.05% heavier than expected. Then you notice same pattern with a few more shipments. An inquiring mind might wanna open a few boxes and see what is up. *Typoed
  - mikecane 13y ago
    Weight is likely taken very seriously by any Customs department due to drug smuggling. And these days, much more malevolent items.
    - cgore 13y ago
      Another good reason for irons, they are a bit heftier than a lot of other small goods, giving less variance from the weight of a small chip.
gcb0 13y ago
Why irons though? i remember a classic demo at one conference where they used a PSU. It had some advantages: 99% certain it will be used near a computer. USB and Ethernet ports for "power surge protection" that can add attack vectors. the only reason i can think of for irons is either lack of other opportunities, or trying to be as inconspicuous as possible (tech savy people are more prone to opening a PSU than an iron)
- pbhjpbhj 13y ago
  >* remember a classic demo at one conference where they used a PSU.* // Wifi from inside a grounded PSU casing inside a (possibly metal) PC casing doesn't sound like something that's going to work very well?
  - gcb0 13y ago
    all UPSs i had were plastic cases. ah, sorry... i wrote PSU... my bad. not a PSU, but one of those UPS, or no-break. more specifically the APC ones that are cheap and have USB data port and Ethernet/modem filtering.
- marcosvpj 13y ago
  Well, who wound think that the iron are sending spam?