IP: Paging Mr. Liddy! Janet Reno wants you

[David Farber <farber@cis.upenn.edu>]

>
>Date: Sat, 21 Aug 1999 16:52:45 -0400
>To: apowell@freedomforum.org
>From: jnk <jnk@dragonheart.net>
>Subject: Re:Paging Mr. Liddy! Janet Reno wants you
>
>This is a despicable idea of the DOJ.
>
>Everyone seems to think that the feds would use a software hack to monitor
>their activity... Nah. The technology has existed for a long time to pick
>up screen images and cpu and data transfers from as much as a mile away
>using the radiated RF energy generated by a normal PC.  (see Tempest
>military protocol for security measures). But this method requires a van,
>personnel and about $15000 worth of equipment. I know that the equipment
>can be "made" cheaper but Im talking off the shelf equipment.
>
>The easiest hack and least expensive would be to... break into the home
>(bad bad bad boys) copy the hard drive with the encrypted data.  Replace
>the keyboard connector (and of course they would have the full panoply of
>all vendors connectors to choose from) with a radio transmitter and wait to
>capture the keystrokes you type to access your files by placing a simple
>receiver with solid state storage out/in your telephone box or Electric
>meter outside, then pick up the reciever/keyboard data recorder
>periodically. Total equipment cost would be less than $150.  This is
>obviously a much cheaper method than continuos monitoring which easily
>starts at $100,000 for a typical wire tap and monitoring personnel. Also
>the more files you have encrypted the less time they'd have to wait to
>capture your passwords because you access them more frequently.
>
>I could see this coming from as far back as 15 years ago. The government is
>the most paranoid of us all. Their thinking is  "Those who encrypt must
>have something to hide and we must find out what it is."   The thought
>police are here and they wont knock they'll sneak in when we are gone and
>steal our thoughts.  The government will keep trying until they know the
>thoughts and conversations of all people to protect us from ourselves and
>to continue their idea of government.  Our job is to beat the drum loudly
>when someone suggests something that steps over the line. This is a
>chilling of free speech knowing that such powers could/may exist. A sad day
>and sorry idea.
>
>====
>After thinking some more on this..
>
>Here is an addendum to the ideas I posted before about using the keyboard
>plug as the transmitter.
>
>The keyboard plug is NOT REPLACED!  A small wafer of black Bakelite about
>1 to 2 millimeters thick with the transmitter circuitry embedded is slid
>onto and inside your existing keyboard plug and snugged up against the
>inside with holes in it that match the normal keyboard pins. Remember this
>is an industry standard and only two types are needed.
>
>The monitoring 'device' would require no batteries because it receives free
>electricity because your keyboard is powered by 5 volts.  WHO would notice
>the keyboard connector is 1 to 2 mm out further????
>
>How much storage would the receiver need?? Not much. How many characters do
>you type each day. All of Shakespeare's works only occupies 5 meg.  Why
>they could then boot up a system with your copied software and data and
>PLAY BACK what you were doing from the stored keyboard data.
>
>This idea of course is a take off on the replacing the mouth piece on a
>phone with a transmitter and getting its power from the phone company.
>
>Of course they would have to turn the machine off to do this... But how
>many times have you sat down at your computer and it is froze? In this case
>it gives the Blue screen of Death or they just load it up to appear frozen?
> UPS system or not you reboot and merrily re-input your passwords... and
>they record every keystroke.
>And play them back on your copy of your hard drives and watch you access
>everything.
>
>sign me as a long time computer nerd and electronics buff.
>
>
>
>--------------------------------------------------------------------------
>POLITECH -- the moderated mailing list of politics and technology
>To subscribe: send a message to majordomo@vorlon.mit.edu with this text:
>subscribe politech
>More information is at http://www.well.com/~declan/politech/
>--------------------------------------------------------------------------