Wireless Security By The Gallon

prostoalex writes "The next effort to improve wireless security might involve a trip to Home Depot. Force Field Wireless sells buckets of aluminum and copped-laced paint designed to prevent the 802.11 packets from escaping the building, Information Week reports. The article also talks about the Firce Field's pitch to the government in order to improve the homeland security, but the only governments that got interested in anti-Wi-Fi paint were from the Middle East. According to the products page, they also sell the brush sets." Easier than wallpaper, or moving into an old house.

Comments

Works great on the scalp!

[CyberGarp]

New cheap replacements for all those tin-foil hats. Easy application!

Boy...

[Tackhead]

> Force Field Wireless sells buckets of aluminum and copped-laced paint

...talk about a TEMPEST in a teapot.

Re:Boy...

[Anonymous Coward]

TEMPEST is the codename for a pseudo-mythical method of surveillance used to intercept data from electrical devices, such as your computer, by intercepting unintended EM emanations. To quote:

"TEMPEST was "invented" in 1918 when Herbert Yardley and his staff of the Black Chamber were engaged by the U.S. Army to develop methods to detect, intercept, and exploit combat telephones and covert radio transmitters. The initial research identified that "normal unmodified equipment" was allowing classified information to be passed to the enemy through a variety of technical weaknesses. A classified program was then created to develop methods to suppress these "compromising emanations". However, the actual acronym known as TEMPEST was only coined in the late 60's and early 70's (and is now considered an obsolete term, which has since, been replaced by the phrase "Emissions Security" or EMSEC).

TEMPEST and it's associated disciplines involve designing circuits to minimize the amount of "compromising emanations" and to apply appropriate shielding, grounding, and bonding. These disciplines also include methods of radiation screening, alarms, isolation circuits/devices, and similar areas of equipment engineering.

TEMPEST disciplines typically involve eliminating or reducing the transients caused by a communication signal and the resulting harmonics. These signals and their harmonics could allow the original signal to be reconstructed and analyzed."

Link:
http://www.tscm.com/TSCM101tempest.html

The idea is that EM fields generated my, say, your monitor can be intercepted and used to reconstruct what's being displayed on the screen.

Re:Boy...

[Detritus]

One of the early exploits for these techniques was to tap into the power lines supplying embassy code rooms and other sensitive areas. Teletypes and coding machines would generate electrical noise on the power line when they were being operated. With some clever analysis, it was often possible to determine what was being typed or printed on the machine. Other avenues of attack were the acoustic and RF emanations of the equipment.

Home Depot

[vasqzr]

The next effort to improve wireless security might involve a trip to Home Depot. Force Field Wireless sells buckets of aluminum and copped-laced paint designed to prevent the 802.11 packets from escaping the building,

Lowe's should consider carrying that product.

Good Old Fashioned Fix

[mary_will_grow]

I knew these cans of lead paint would find a use someday!!!!!

Ok... wow... misread

[Dirtside]

At first glance I saw "Wireless Security By Gollum". I can't even begin to figure out what that might involve. The One Token Ring, perhaps?

Re:Ok... wow... misread

[SlinkyToad]

Or maybe a Tolkien Ring network...

-the Slink

"One Ring to Rule them all..."

What else does it block?

[millahtime]

So, it blocks an 802.11 signal. Wouldn't this mean that cordless phones would be blocked also. What about cell phones or old fashioned radios?

This might me more of a pain than a solution

Re:What else does it block?

[nrd907s]

From the article:

There are drawbacks to the paint. It doesn't just block wireless networks. In the home, it would block the one or two remaining TVs connected to rabbit ears. More important, it blocks mobile-phone signals.

The company also makes a window film that cuts down on signal leakage: A 30-inch-by-25-foot roll is priced at $45.

Re:What else does it block?

[Kelerain]

Its true this may not be the best wifi security solution (ethernet anyone?) but it would be *great* for say, theaters. No more annoying cell phones going off durring the movies! There are other issues to deal with, such as liability (doctors on call etc) but as long as you posted a sign that explained as such, things should be alright. It would be a great solution, and much easier to apply than expensive pannels and such that have been tried before.

Re:What else does it block?

[Qzukk]

would be *great* for say, theaters. No more annoying cell phones going off

I've heard cellphones that beep repeatedly to let you know you're out of service range.

Of course, in a theatre situation, maybe that would remind the person to shut it off, or at least provide a homing beacon for those that want to shut it off for him before the movie starts.

Good old..

[Gorffy]

Paranoia. The true mother of all invention.

Well...

[imsabbel]

As this "security improvement" only affects computers in specially prepared rooms, WHY THE FUCK use wireless at all? A nice Cat5 is 10times faster than wifi, and even more tempest-proof than a metal painted room.
Not to mention that even to most fancy cable management system will be less work and cost than painting all walls+ceiling (and what about the floor if you arent in the basement?)...

Re:Well...

[rednip]

As this "security improvement" only affects computers in specially prepared rooms...more tempest-proof than a metal painted room

No the special rooms mentioned in the article are the Faraday cage, with which they compare the effect. This is what happens when you skim an article, just looking for something to bitch about. The article clearly states that this paint is intended for entire buildings, for example (from the article):

DefendAir would be an attractive option to protect an RFID-enabled warehouse, he says.

Also

More important, it blocks mobile-phone signals.

Can you imagine the benifit of using it in the outside paint for a movie theater, or resturant. You whouldn't even have to use jammers (which whould bleed into the street and are illegal anyways) to achieve freedom from hearing only one side of someone's conversation.

Re:Well...

[Glendale2x]

As this "security improvement" only affects computers in specially prepared rooms, WHY THE FUCK use wireless at all? A nice Cat5 is 10times faster than wifi, and even more tempest-proof than a metal painted room.

Using Cat5 over wireless is a massive security improvement in itself, also available from the Home Depot. Cable ends and crimpers are available too, and at a cost far less than the paint. I suspect the paint is for suckering in people who think 802.11 is the only thing there is. The rest of us who actually care and want to save some money will continue to run cables.

Every time I see something about "wireless security" I always wonder why people spend so damn much money (like the paint) and effort (new encryption schemes) on it when if you really cared about security you wouldn't be using it in the first place. "Wireless security" is good to stop someone from casually using your access point, but is no substitution for real security and encryption.

Even then, people pick stupid or easy to remember passwords for their base stations, or open the window of their wireless-defeating painted room, thereby making it all a moot point.

Wrong idea

[Marxist Hacker 42]

FTFA:

"It was my concept along with my colleague, Diane Lopez," says Wray, a former network engineer with Networks Associates. "We knew of people inundated with interference on their wireless systems. In fact, Diane, in her apartment, could find eight wireless networks around her. She needed to shield herself."

No, she needed to stop wasting money on broadband and mooch off her neighbors.

Legal to sell in some states?

[ARRRLovin]

I'd like to see the MSDS(Material Safety Data Sheet) for those products. Adding heavy metals to non-commercial coatings can't be legal everywhere. I used to work in the retail coating industry (neighborhood paint store) and even just your standard bathroom paint is regulated heavily. So heavily it makes other EPA legislature look completely logical!

You have questions, I have answers.

[FreeLinux]

Q. Does it really work?

A. Yes, to some extent. The metalic paint does effectively impede radio signals however, it is not 100% effective. Some signal may still leak through the paint also, untreated windows and doors will allow the signal to leak. None the less, signal propagation is greatly reduced by the paint, which was the primary reason for its development.

Q. What about cordless phones?

A. This paint will affect most radio signals including corless and cell phones, AM/FM radio, broadcast TV and more. The overall effect will vary depending on paint application quality, signal frequency and strength, as well as other factors.

Q. Is this paint a health risk?

A. Copper based paint, commonly used in marine applications, is a known health risk and environmental hazard. While there is little data available for aluminum based paints, there do not appear to be significant health risks at this time. This does not mean that there aren't health risks associated with aluminum based paints.

Re:Is it as good as Stucco and plaster?

[stratjakt]

It's not the paster or stucco, but the metal lath to which the stucco and plaster are adhered to.

If you ever see it installed, they (usually) first staple up a thick metal mesh, which holds the plaster in place. Wood lath was the status quo in the really olden days, before steel became cheaper than hardwood strips.

Norm Abrahms goes wardriving in this weeks episode of This Old House!

Re:TSS Covered It Last Month...

[bladesjester]

Using wireless in an outhouse? Talk about your reception going to shit

Other options

[leighklotz]

The Defend Air people don't give any data I can find on the dB-vs-MHz effectiveness of their product, but plenty of competitive technologies do. I wish they did, because I want to line my laundry room with the stuff! The washing machine makes a terrible racket in my radio.

There's Hospital Quality shielding done with aluminum foil, and more serious shielding of both E and H fields for MRI machines. I won't even go into the RF-sealed doors...

If you're concerned about magnetic fields, then Mu Metal is the stuff. Just don't bend any of the Hydrogen-annealed variety. You can get sheet and tape in small quantifies from these folks, who by the way also offer "Personal Protection Devices (silver-impregnated fiber baseball caps, not tinfoil hats, please) ...and their own copper paint which is startlingly more expensive than the DefendAir product...they even have the same window film that keeps out the sun, but also makes your cell phone not work.

For sealing over the gaps, don't forget 3M 1181 Copper Tape, which features electrically-conducting adhesive, but only specifies 80dB isolation at 30MHz-1GHz.

But my favorite so far is Metal Foam, which reminds me of the almost weightless foamed glass Aerogel that was a announced a few years ago... Foamed aluminum is available commercially in 2x2ft sheets from from Austria, Alulight. They claim 40dB isolation in the 2Ghz range and over 100dB to 140dB in the 10Mhz-1GHz range, plus excellent sound isolation, structural, and fire safety properties. What's not to like? Anybody know where the get this stuff in the US? Reade seems out of my range, but I'll ask them.

Re:Homeowners be very careful with this

[MmmDee]

And why I try to find (failing so far) anti-perspirants that don't contain aluminum...

fyi, Old Spice is aluminum free.