34 Years of the Digest ... founded August 21, 1981Copyright © 2015 E. William Horne. All Rights Reserved.The Telecom Digest for Sep 12, 2015
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| We should be considerate to the living; to the dead we owe only the truth |
| Voltaire |
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| Date: Fri, 11 Sep 2015 00:53:47 -0400 From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com> To: telecomdigestsubmissions.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Lockpickers 3-D Print TSA Master Luggage Keys From Leaked Photos Message-ID: <C5396D60-85AE-41BD-961D-71BCABD69F23@roscom.com> Lockpickers 3-D Print TSA Master Luggage Keys From Leaked Photos The TSA is learning a basic lesson of physical security in the age of 3-D printing: If you have sensitive keys - say, a set of master keys that can open locks you've asked millions of Americans to use - don't post pictures of them on the Internet. A group of lock-picking and security enthusiasts drove that lesson home Wednesday by publishing a set of CAD files to Github that anyone can use to 3-D print a precisely measured set of the TSA's master keys for its "approved" locks - the ones the agency can open with its own keys during airport inspections. Within hours, at least one 3-D printer owner had already downloaded the files, printed one of the master keys, and published a video proving that it opened his TSA-approved luggage lock. Those photos first began making the rounds online last month, after the Washington Post unwittingly published (and then quickly deleted) a photo of the master keys in an article about the "secret life" of baggage in the hands of the TSA. It was too late. Now those photos have been used to derive exact cuts of the master keys so that anyone can reproduce them in minutes with a 3-D printer or a computer-controlled milling machine. ... http://www.wired.com/2015/09/lockpickers-3-d-print-tsa-luggage-keys-leaked-photos/ |
| Date: Thu, 10 Sep 2015 21:03:46 -0500 From: Dave Garland <dave.garland@wizinfo.com> To: telecomdigestsubmissions.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: Privacy - cell vs. landline Message-ID: <mstcoj$3ht$1@dont-email.me> On 9/10/2015 6:31 PM, David Clayton wrote: > The data available from cell handsets is far more than simply calls. > > Cell handsets are essentially personal tracking stations which can be used > to record your movements and the data can be used for all sorts of > nefarious purposes from general government and commercial snooping to > criminal use such as analysing patterns for potential crimes such as house > break-ins and kidnappings etc. > > That is the sort of data collection people should be concerned about. And (if you can't bribe a telco employee or get the info via the legal process) you can buy the gear through someplace like the Chinese marketing site Alibaba. I see several IMSI catchers for sale (price from $2K to $20K, metadata only, control the gear with a cellphone app), and one "cell phone monitor" (no price given, you might have to convince the seller that you're legit). Getting movement data over a wide area would probably require access to the telco data, if you weren't ready to build your own (expensive) network of data collectors. GSM voice encryption (if the cell site actually is using it, apparently not all sites do) has been cracked for years (allegedly it was designed to be weak enough so 25 years ago intelligence agencies could break it). A brief google search will turn up how to do it with free software (GNURadio/Airprobe/Kraken) and links to Software Defined Radio (SDR) hardware manufacturers ($200-$4000, depending on features) for the hardware, so just eavesdropping on a cellphone is possible for someone who wants to badly enough (assuming you can physically locate to the same celltower area). |
| Date: Fri, 11 Sep 2015 01:15:16 -0400 From: Ron <ron@see.below> To: telecomdigestsubmissions.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: Privacy - cell vs. landline Message-ID: <kfo4va954j9gol2h7mkqdqerl0tn01vghc@4ax.com> Phil Smith III <phsiii@gmail.com> wrote: >A novelist friend asks: > >Is it true that landlines are more secure than cell phones -- e.g., if >my characters want to discuss something they wouldn't want The >Authorities to ever know they'd discussed? For a land line, The Authorities need to go to the trouble of getting a court order to tap the line. For a cell phone, all they need to do is set up a Stingray unit and lie about it, as has been routinely done by The Authorities. On the face of it, the land line is safer. However, the smart covert op will have each party buy a burner pay-for-airtime phone. As long as they don't discuss anything that will identify them (e.g.: "Let's meet at 9 PM at the Longhorn Bar"), they're probably secure. They must each do this from some random location, so that the GPS and tower data doesn't locate their homes or offices. This alternative also makes the metadata useless. Some unknown phone called some other unknown phone. Now, all of the above assumes a straightforward, unmodified phone. Add scramble capability and the game changes. See, for instance, https://silentcircle.com/ to learn more about this alternative. -- Ron (user telnom.for.plume in domain antichef.com) |
| Date: Fri, 11 Sep 2015 09:56:39 -0700 (PDT) From: Neal McLain <nmclain.remove-this@and-this-too.annsgarden.com> To: telecomdigestsubmissions.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: JKL Museum lost in fire Message-ID: <483cc724-a7b1-426c-8f02-c1542dfe31a3@googlegroups.com> By Remco Enthoven, curator, September 11, 2015 The American Museum of Telephony, known familiarly as the JKL Museum, and surrounding residences were lost to fire last night (September 10 2015). The community of Mountain Ranch CA where the museum was located may also be affected. We were told by firefighters that the museum burned to the ground. Currently no one can get into the area. The fire is called the Butte fire. As soon as we have more news we will post it on our website: http://jklmuseum.com http://jklmuseum.com/jkl-museum-lost-in-fire/ The JKL Museum, named for its owner John K LaRue (and coincidentally for the JKL on the "5" button of the dial), houses an extensive collection of telephones and related items. La Rue has been a frequent contributor to the Telephone Collectors International (TCI) Yahoo group. http://www.telephonecollectors.org/ Neal McLain |
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