Anti-Wi-Fi Wallpaper

Alephcat writes "New Scientist is reporting on a wallpaper that can prevent hackers accessing secure networks via Wi-Fi - without blocking mobile phone signals - that's been developed by a British defence contractor. It is based on covert 'stealth' technology that was originally designed to hide military radars."

Comments

Deja Vu

[AKAImBatman]

I have the oddest feeling of Deja Vu. Haven't we seen this story before? Like two weeks ago?

Re:What, you want me to put wallpaper on my window

[Raptor CK]

What if you don't use wifi, but also want to ensure that no one in your office can attach to a rogue AP?

I'm sure there are a number of uses for this which have little to do with securing one's own wireless LAN.

Mod parent down...didn't RTFA

[genixia]

If he had, he would have seen;

that rogue APs are a concern (Strike 1),
that they are working on transparent window treatments (Strike 2), and
that they have considered market pricing (Strike 3).

Re:I bet

[AKAImBatman]

You Fiend! Making people type "www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99992461" when you could have just linked there! The horror, the horror! ;-)

Re:What, you want me to put wallpaper on my window

[silas_moeckel]

How to stop people from connecting an AP. First off dissalow any remote switches particualy dumb ones. Only allow one MAC address per port. Turn the port off if you see spanning tree. Run 802.1x auth and vlan selection with a 2 factor login (secure ID etc). Only allow one login per person. Not that hard to do with modern Cisco gear, expensive but not hard.

Pink Panther Insulation (Re:why limit...)

[Anonymous Coward]

Pink Panther insulation is foil backed. It might do the trick and be out of sight.

Re:What, you want me to put wallpaper on my window

[retostamm]

It's not really wallpaper, it's a thin sheet of Kapton (1/10th of a millimeter). You can see trough that, so you can paste it on windows, and you can also put it under the carpet and in the crawl space above you.

But I think you are right, people who want security won't use Computers :)

Re: Anti-Wi-Fi Wallpaper

[Richard George]

The real objective of this wallpaper (and competing paint and window film products) is to offer a low-cost method to provide TEMPEST protection to offices as an alternative to building a full skiff.

This anti-WiFi wall paper is grossly overpriced. The same effect can be achieved using EMSEC's paint at a cost of about $3 per square foot (about $500 per gallon) or using ASTIC Signals Defense's SD1000, SD2000, or SD3000 series window films (about $15 to $30 per square feet installed; substantially more for the bullet proof glass version installed at US Embassies).

See http://www.worldtechex.com/WorldTech/Browsing/frmC ategory.aspx?type=TECHNOLOGY&id=59&report-id=5 for more information about the ASTIC film.

Both products block most RF frequencies, including the WiFi frequencies. The window film also blocks infrared threats(e.g. laser microphones) and UV threats (see the cambridge whitepaper on CRT threats).

The paint essentially includes certain powdered metals, including copper, that block RF frequencies. The window film takes a blast-resistant film and uses a patented plasma sputtering process to place a thin layer of gold, silver, and other metals on the window film.

The film is currently installed on a variety of buildings dealing with defense, homeland security, and intelligence in the Washington DC area. The EMSEC paint is State-Department controlled and requires a license for export. The ASTIC film can be exported to any country except those on the terror / bad company list.