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Location-Based Encryption
davidwr writes "Eweek reports Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has a new way to prevent theft of company secrets on stolen laptops: 'Wozniak offered a peek into his vision for the company on Ziff Davis Media's Security Virtual Tradeshow, where he introduced "wOz Location-Based Encryption," an application that uses GPS tracking within a wireless hub to encrypt and decrypt sensitive data for large businesses.' Today's encryption is good enough but I do like the tracking capability. Imagine your laptop screaming 'I'm being stolen! I'm being stolen!' and paging security as the janitor walks out the door with it."
All GPS devices I've come across simply stream out NMEA data from a serial port (or over a bluetooth connection). What would stop someone that really desperate to get the data from hacking the GPS module or the dongle so they can stream in their own forged (or recorded) NMEA data which reports the laptops current position to be where they stole it from (after all, they should remember)? Usually anything these days that requires a GPS uses a standard GPS module, and at some stage, the position data from it ends up in an interceptable form on the edge interface of some module. Hardly bulletproof security?
Our diversity is our strength
What if they had that for cars? Imagine someone tries to steal one and an alarm goes off! Everyone will pay attention and call the police right away. Car theft will be a thing of the past for sure...
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Oh, I'm sorry, you need to move two steps to the left.
It seems like the real risk would be when you are on-site, traveling, etc. As a consultant, my laptop never leaves my side. I'd hate to have to "check out" every time I left the building. Also, I don't think I would like my employer having the possibility of tracking my every movement. Sure, you could turn off the tracking, but then you've lost the security as well.
Post-rock/Ambient/Drone and other noise.
Ok, may be I'm missing something, but wouldn't a simple shut down get rid of this 'feature'?
And before you tell me how you can't shut it down without the apropriate password: Unplug / get rid of the battery. If you're stealing the notebook, why would you mind turning it off? After all, there'll be plenty of time back home to retrive the data.
This has come up before- here is a link to a 2001 Wired article about the British intelligence services using laptops with ``a built-in electronic self-destruct mechanism that erases a laptop's hard drive if the case is opened by force'' when a code is forgotten, as well as ``a tracking feature that allows a computer gone astray to call home." This was after a spate of embarrassing episodes where laptops with lots of important info went missing. I don't know if it's been implemented but this does seem to have some interesting applications, potentially...
It's psychosomatic. You need a lobotomy. I'll get a saw.
IBM Thinkpads have had RFID in them for a while now, to prevent them being taken out of specific areas.
Like tinyurl, but one letter less! http://qurl.co.uk/
Wozniac is a nutjob no doubt about it. He'd still be a legend, though, even if it weren't for Apple. He was an early phreaker, and a good friend of John Draper - Cap'n Crunch for gods sake! He was an important figure in the Silicon Valley hobbyist community, and even if he hadn't done either Apple or phreaking he'd still be a footnote in the big book of commodity PCs because of that. Certainly more than you or I can claim.
He and Jobs didn't start their relationship selling computers together - they originally sold blue boxes. Woz still works for Apple, mostly as a consultant, and he and Jobs still collaborate (though Woz has claimed that on many occasions Jobs credits him with ideas that he had minimal participation in).
Since leaving Apple he's been as much a humanitarian with his skills and money as Bill Gates (though in smaller absolute amounts). He personally provides free tech support for the local school system, and (at least when System 8 was still cutting edge) held computer classes for preschool and elementary school kids. He's sponsered charity concerts, and more.
Problem with Wozniak is he has a great technical mind, a wonderful sense of playfulness, and even a good sense of what users want in products, but his business sense is poor. That's why there hasn't been as much output from Woz since leaving Apple - their hasn't been a Steve Jobs. Wozniak was the Paul Allen to Job's Bill Gates, and much like Allen, Wozniak has dabbled here and their, with no truly successful financial venture yet. That doesn't mean he's worthless