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Ericsson and Intel Offer Remote Notebook Lockdown
MojoKid writes "Ericsson and Intel have announced that they are collaborating on a way to keep your laptop's contents safe when your laptop goes MIA. Using Intel's Anti-Theft Technology — PC Protection (Intel AT-p) and Ericsson's Mobile Broadband (HSPA)
modules,
lost or stolen laptops can be remotely locked down. Similar to Lenovo's recently announced Lockdown Now PC technology, the Ericsson-Intel technology uses SMS messages sent directly to a laptop's mobile broadband chip. Once the chip receives the lock-down message, it passes it to the Intel AT-p function, which is integrated into Intel's Centrino 2 with vPro technology platform. Unlike Lenovo's anti-theft solution, the Ericsson module includes GPS functionality as well."
And once the codes to do this leak into the wild, laptop hijacking and ransoms will be next.
now we need to go OSS in diesel cars
aside from the security risks, this can only become an effective deterrent if it sees widespread use.
good luck with that.
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun the frumious Bandersnatch.
The question is if this... feature has a government backdoor to 'assist' in 'terrorism investigation.'
ELOI, ELOI, LAMA SABACHTHANI!?
...Once the chip receives the lock-down message, it passes it to the Intel AT-p function, which is integrated into Intel's Centrino 2 with vPro technology platform. Unlike Lenovo's anti-theft solution, the Ericsson module includes GPS functionality as well..."
In a few months, this capability will be broken to my delight. Oh wait...where is that fella "DVD Jon?"
So when they see that their newly stolen laptop suddenly stops functioning, what do they do? They ditch it somewhere, and I don't mean sell it. You'll NEVER get it back then. I mean yeah it's supposed to stop people from stealing your much more valuable personal data but that should be password protected anyway with a directory hider/protector (not like a compressed archive file with a password cuz that's too slow) so why bother? Now people can just fake the signal and shut your laptop off so it seems like it causes more problems than it fixes.
Google's Super Secret Search Algorithm: SELECT @search_results FROM internet WHERE @search_results = 'good'
It won't solve for another problem: losing the computer in an area without signal (like a train).
If the thief is smart (which is normally not the case), he can remove the hard drive right on the train or in that same area and completely avoid the SMS message. Unless, of course, the SMS can somehow be sent to the security chip without the interference of an operating system.
When I lost my Treo in the subway, the Good administrator for my hosted email service could not remote wipe the phone because it could never find service. It's possible that someone removed the SIM right away, but I'm sure that I lost it while getting off the train.
Nonetheless, it's a great idea that covers many other common circumstances. Fortunately, most thieves are petty thieves and wouldn't know that this module is there in the first place.
So, anybody else remember when we talked about "digital manners policies", the delightful form of DRM where devices selectively disobey you based on their environments?
Well, reading the patent application linked to in that article should give you all kinds of delightful ideas about what you could do with a computer that has some sort of embedded supervisor processor with GPS and a cell data link...
They're talking about the processor and stuff, but what about the hard drive? I mean, in a list of what I want secured, isn't the HD the first thing anyone would check? What about it? There's nothing in the article, looks like an infomercial if you ask me...
Here's how I would build a lock-downable laptop:
BIOS/preboot environment: Looks to an external device, probably a USB stick, for part or all of the crypto key. Use that to decrypt boot loader on hard disk or other boot device and follow its instructions. Of course this should have a passphrase.
Boot loader will look to whereever it chooses for crypto keys for the rest of the drive. These may be the same keys as the bootloader used or they may be something else. They may be partially or completely downloaded from the Internet, and once decrypted with a passphrase, are stored in memory or better yet only on the CPU in such a way as they are never stored in a paged-memory file.
Furthermore, really sensitive data can be encrypted in container-file partitions, encrypted compressed files, or what not using OS- or application-level-encrypted containers.
This, in conjunction with an "lock all I/O and networking and turn on the screensaver" software when the user is away from the computer, will render it very difficult to get at the data on the drive, difficult to deter all but the most determined adversary.
Now all the user has to do is remember to remove his USB stick after booting. Of course, if his laptop does get stolen he's still out the replacement cost of the machine and the cost of restoring his data from backups.
Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
No problem. Laptops are worth more when you sell the parts individually rather than the whole thing.
Slashdot: Failed Car Analogies. Amateur Lawyering. Anecdote Battles.
No problem. Laptops are worth more when you sell the parts individually rather than the whole thing.
Like Cars?
I have determined that my sig is indeterminate.
More of a marketing gimmick than anything else. Maybe an attempt to get stupid customers pay for some monthly fee "security" service, like alarm monitoring, OnStar, etc.
Another great "Big Brother" innovation. Can't you just imagine, during the next "threat escalation" all laptops get cockblocked "just in case" for the Greater Good ®, of the patriotic nation?
I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed or numbered. My life is my own.
sales of lead-lined suitcases have increased heavily.
Remember war dialling? Well, as soon as you know the SMS string, you can now start walking through number ranges and "lock" laptops - a whole new DoS attack :-) Cool :-)
Need an ISP in South Africa?
FTFA "One potential limitation to these designs is that the laptops have to be powered on in order to receive the SMS "kill" message. So if an enterprising thief is aware of the anti-theft technology, he might be able to disable the remote functionality simply by removing or disabling the broadband module. Therefore, if you are concerned about your data falling into the wrong hands, you'd be well advised to also password protect your laptop in both hardware and software, encrypt the hard drive, and even set up a policy that locks the laptop after repeated failed log-in attempts." Ericsson states that its anti-theft technology will be available in Centrino 2-based laptops by the second half of 2009."
Well, if you already know how to do all that properly - and actually do it - then it's hard to see what this innovation brings apart from a monthly cellular bill for your laptop.
Relying on cell phone communication? If it's GSM, it's already been p0wn3d. info. At the moment, it's only within reach of large corporations, but those barriers are artificial. There's also been development on creating a fake base station using a USRP (google it), a very nice piece of hardware kit that can do the signals processing necessary... So the hardware exists for $1000 to pull this hack off. Failing that, just pop the screws and cut the antenna leads to the internal wifi (which is likely the same antenna as the cell phone), or use a x-acto blade and cut the etching. Worse case scenario, look for the power pin(s) and cut them. Oh noes, I lost wifi ($30 for a cardbus card) and gained myself a free laptop!
When I can crack your security using a $5 hobby knife, you've got issues.
#fuckbeta #iamslashdot #dicemustdie
'All' a thief has to do is block the signal. Given how wireless and mobile reception is, wouldn't it only take 3 or 4 layers of aluminium foil to prevent the signal getting through? You could bond those to plastic to make a few study envelopes, then put the laptop in one, and put that in another, and put that in another, etc, and jam the whole lot into the laptop bag.
Would help for opportunistic thefts where the tealeaf isn't lugging a roll of cooking foil around.
I suspect that this is less about deterrent and more about mitigating data loss.
In my dictionary, "data loss" means you don't have access to the data, whereas "data theft" means someone else has access to the data when they shouldn't.
Backups protect against data loss. Remote disabling protects against data theft.
Full disk encryption also protects against data theft if the laptop is off when stolen. Having the laptop shut down if mydnsname.org/laptop-id/shutdown doesn't 404 (cron job, every minute) would help against data theft if the laptop is on while stolen. If you have a bluetooth phone and enable the screen saver when the phone loses contact with the laptop, it helps you even more if the laptop gets stolen in the on state.
If you trust your backups, you can also backup all the encrypted keys that are on the disk on your secure server, and wipe them from the laptop when you find the shutdown page on the web.
Oh well, I guess the people who like wearing suits and buying stuff trust people who like wearing suits and selling stuff over people who like wearing t-shirts and building stuff.
This is privacy for security, .. sony will be able to track when you are online and where you are, with there gps module, .. this is not something i'm waiting for and what if there is an exploit in the system and it gets widely available to hackers, .. nothing is perfect, but such things shouldn't be in a computer, this is asking for trouble.
Just send an sms to disable spam botnets...
This only works if the valuable data on the laptop is encrypted. Since, as we've seen, companies are perfectly content to put personal info of millions of people on completely unsecured computers, these kinds of features will remain in the domain of curiosity.
Until businesses are held financially responsible for ALL damage resulting from a data breach, no feature will make data secure.
Intel AT-p
2200 Mission College Blvd., Santa Clara, CA 95054-1537
Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner entwine / The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine?
1) Steal Laptop
2) Remove hard drive
3) Throw away rest (w/broadband chip)
4) Sell data
5) Profit!
This is being marketed as a theft-deterrent device and a data-loss prevention device. Yeah, that's it.
The real intent here is to create consumer demand for a foot-in-the-door approach to controlling computer usage among users. Downloading copyrighted material? BZZT - now your laptop is dead. Using unauthorized applications or operating systems? BZZT - now your laptop is dead. Making comments in chat rooms that don't tow the homeland security line? BZZT - now your laptop is dead.
This is just "trusted computing" in sheep's clothing. If manufacturers can create consumer demand for this, it will be easy for the government and the RIAA (mostly synonymous, I know) to co-opt it for their purposes at some point down the road.
humm. another trustworthy firmware piece of code I have no control of. great. but why should I care - I'm running a open platform ! i can verify every single line of code I'm running ! think again. the hw barrier endures - coding is much easier than pcb printing. So you end up with g00gle pitching android as 'open and free' while restricting any root privileges, your TPM chip busy DRM'ing on your behalf & your TiVo phoning home. how long until your LCD denies you playing videos ? what will prevent Sony from taking another shot at RK technology at the firmware level ?
I know that asking for fully open hardware is asking for a lot - but seriously - can we compromise for any thing else ? I only hope I'll have the guts to swallow the performance penalty once such hardware exists.
Undercover, from Orbicule, has been doing something similar for Mac laptops for a long time:
http://www.orbicule.com/
If I can lock down my laptop, then how long until criminals and crackers find a way to lock it down as well using the same technology as a new DoS attack?
I think the problem of theft can be solved very easily by just not storing any data on any local machine, store everything on your own servers instead.
Encrypt your laptops already! Jeesh. I guess people will pay money for all kinds of services that supposedly keep laptops safe. All the tools to keep your information safe already exist, but people simply refuse to use them. Encrypt your data and it will be safe (assuming you use a decent passphrase or key).
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