Leaking Secrets from Air-Gap Computers by Spelling Radio Signals from RAM

talon8635

These and other methods are good reason to believe that AI can never be 100% contained, which gives me pause. The famous air gap case is stuxnet, but there are other technical and biological approaches. It’s a very weird reality we’ve found ourselves in if you stop, zoom out about, and really take in the gravity of the issues we are grappling with as a human race. Exciting, truly, and a bit nerve wracking.

ranger_danger

Let me guess, a paper written by Mordechai Guri? It's not even a contest anymore, that man is the heavyweight champ of air-gap security.

skhr0680

As a total layman when it comes to air gapping: Would this not be defeated by putting the computer in a faraday cage?

andai

Does any information leak along the power line? I remember having some device back in the day that let me create a LAN through my apartment's electric wiring. I'm wondering if anything ends up back there thru the PSU during normal use of a computer, or if the high frequency components get filtered out. (Though maybe secure computers do things differently with the power as well?)

superkuh

Computers used to come in proper full metal cases. Now they don't. Even when you try to find a metal case for a personal build most cases have giant holes in the side (case windows) acting as slot antennas. And plastic case laptop designs are even worse. Radiated emissions are much easier to achieve at useful intensities these days because of it. Sure, before the conductors going in and out radiated somewhat effectively (and still do). But now even core system components inside are just being let emit without any mitigation.

rbbydotdev

Meanwhile my WiFi never works

laserbeam

> We show that malware on a compromised computer Right… I’m going to stop reading after these words. With malware on the computer you can change the heat signature of the room of you’re bored enough. https://xkcd.com/1172/

TGower

Cool paper even if the attack isn't practical, requiring getting the malware on the computer and a SDR antenna within 7 meters with clear line of sight of the affected computer for 100 bits per second (less after applying error correction). Hard to imagine a scenario where you can pull off both of those, but you couldn't plug in a USB, grab the PC, or record the screen directly.