Slashdot Mirror
AT&T Won't Block Black Hat Eavesdropping Demo
snydeq writes "AT&T says it won't interfere with a highly anticipated talk on intercepting cell phone calls at the Black Hat conference this week. Hacker Chris Paget last week said that he plans to demonstrate on Saturday how to set up what's essentially a fake cell tower that allows him listen in on nearby mobile calls. But Tuesday, he wrote on his blog that he had 'heard that AT&T may be considering suing me to stop my talk.' AT&T, however, has insisted it has no plans to interfere with the talk."
But what about the types of people that actually enforce the wiretapping and interception laws?
Your hair look like poop, Bob! - Wanker.
Did he hear it over an AT&T line?
Mod Me Up. You'll make a grown man cry.
So he blogged that he heard that AT&T might sue him to stop the talk, AT&T deny the rumour, it makes headlines.
Good to hear that AT&T is actually doing the "right thing" and hopefully learning from the research instead of attempting to suppress it.
...not to mention that he definitely has a lot of time on his hands.
Only if I were a total fag. Let's be honest people. Linux is teh gay.
Just because one person at AT&T said they won't do anything about it, there is absolutely no guarantee that someone else doesn't have different plans.
There are many examples of a corporate spokesman saying one thing, while the company immediately did the opposite.
just imagine:
Well dressed spokesman speaking to TV reporter: "Absolutely not! There is no credibility to the rumor that there is any terrorist activities or police actions taking place at this facility! The rumors are absolutely false! I can only guess that maybe someone who doesn't know any better got a little excited when someone in shipping started playing with some bubblewrap. Everything is just fine, no trouble what so ever."
In the background, a group of fully outfitted swat or paramilitary in black body armor and assault rifles run out of the nearby building and take cover behind a shipping crate, an explosion is heard and gray smoke pours out of the doorway the team just came from...
AT&T will eventually react violently to this, but they have already shown more restraint than they would have shown 5 years ago. 15 years ago, they wouldn't have even known about this, or just ignored it. 10 years ago, they would have silently shut them down. 5 years ago, they would have made a huge PR stunt, and tried to get the FBI to stop this 'hazard'. Now, they are just dealing with it, powerless.
Our lives are filled with technology, and IT has gone mainstream. Very big parts of our infrastructure (most of the internet, just to give one example) relies on Free Software. Our beloved corporate overlords are getting anxious, because they can't control things the way they were used to. They will get increasingly violent and orwellian as they keep loosing control of the world.
The world has gone p2p, critical systems are now running in a decentralized manner, and that is pissing off your owners. Seeing them slowly realize how irrelevant they are becoming is going to be painful, distressful, but amazingly entertaining. Enjoy, and welcome to the future.
WTF am I doing replying to an AC at 5 A.M on a Friday night?
While I detest AT&T on multiple levels, this shows that AT&T is thinking clearly(at least at the very moment at time). AT&T was probably advised, from a legal standpoint, that they(AT&T) had no legal basis to use to stop this demonstration. It is the same reason why we can learn how to build a multitude of bombs, learn how to make various drugs, and learn a plethora of various knowledge on the internet and out in the "real world". The First Amendment to the United States' Constitution cannot and will not be put on hold to make any group happy. Aside from threats of violence, "free speech" cannot be withheld from the citizenry.
Even though people, today, tend to believe to contrary, the U.S. Constitution is still very much alive(in that is still protects us the same way it has since its inception). While AT&T might have won a temporary injunction to stop this(if they properly sopped for a judge), it would have been quickly squashed on appeal and the information would have been disseminated rather quickly. The fact is that AT&T does not want negative press.
Of course, that could change. I mean, in the interest of being consistent, AT&T might just try to kill this at the last minute.
I'm still not very convinced this is legal, and you want to be sure. While they might well say "It isn't like he caused any harm, just let it slide," they also might now. The law is the law and all that. Plus maybe some company pressures them in to it. Some provider who gets mad says "Hey, you need to charge this guy, he broke wiretapping laws!"
When you are doing something all on your own equipment in a controlled environment, then sure you are good to go. So having a lab with what you need and trying it on your own stuff, that is legal. However intercepting random people in the area of your tower? Don't think that is legal, doesn't matter if you are doing it as a demonstration or not.
Too many problems with the iPhones - personal towers might be a good idea
Headlines like that truly annoy me. The implication is that AT&T is going to allow eavesdropping when in fact they are just not going to stop a talk! I don't like AT&T but that doesn't mean I like to see them or anyone else incorrectly maligned!
Different conference. My understanding is that the EFF is involved, and signs are being posted around the perimeter. Either way, I won't be using a GSM enabled phone. Should be interesting.
Somebody at AT&T should be getting a pat on the back. He or she just helped the company dodge a Barbara-Streisand-Effect bullet.
-- arstchnca
--
He should be worried about being arrested rather than being sued. It's illegal for civilians to intercept cell phone signals. Why would AT&T step in? They'll just let him commit a crime and the police will take care of the rest. And since he's gone to the trouble of announcing this to the world, law enforcement already knows what is going to happen, and they'll have personnel ready when the moment arrives.
Anyone else remember how Adobe got the FBI to arrest and charged Sklyarov?
It doesn't matter what some mediadroid says. All it would take is one phone call from the right person at AT&T to the right person in the DOJ.
AT&T could deny any and all prior knowledge when the Feds arrest the presenter for breaking some law or another. Hell, AT&T could even call for his release afterward knowing that history would repeat itself.
Considering how big AT&T is again there really isn't anything anyone can do even if they did move openly. Boycott? HA!, how many of us can afford to give up our cell phones, home phones and Internet connections in protest? AT&T knows they have most of us by the tender bits.
Listening in on cell phone calls was sometimes as trivial as turning on your TV to the right UHF station. If you wanted to get sophisticated, you bought a scanner to listen on the right frequency.
It's interesting someone found a way to make a base station an do a MITM attack, but this is nothing compared to the massive problem with cloning, interception, and everything else than went on in the analogue era of cell phones for many many years.
AccountKiller
No AT&T, you can't stop him. That is the problem, and the point of his talk.
Sera
Slashdot, where armchair scientists get shouted down and armchair theologians get modded up.
Why is it that some people suck so badly that they feel the need to do stupid shit like write virii, write scripts that turn your computer into a slave for their use, write scripts that steal your info, write programs that allow them to cheat like little bitches on Battle Field 2, write programs that allow them to listen in on your cell phone conversations, write programs that pretty much bork your fucking windows partition? Why can't these fucking pieces of shit just play the fucking game, surf pr0n, download movies, comment on /., and check their fucking email like normal people????????????? I mean really, if you are so fucking smart you can write programs that do all of these things, why aren't you doing something more productive with your "skillz"?
-Oz
I wonder how many will actually cut AT&T some slack or give them credit for NOT interfering?
Claiming that AT&T is threatening to sue him will serve to garner him more attention, which is probably exactly what he wants.
The guy is making as much ado about his presentation as possible. He forced AT&T to deny that they will be suing him, nice propaganda move - probably no one in AT&T gave a f**k what's his presentation until he started spreading rumors about AT&T.
I bet he got it.
but seriously operation takedown aka hackers 2, this was kind of a major plot point.
I think it is strange that we are now more worried about being sued then about the technical knowledge and the fact that if he can do it, everybody else can do it.
And this is a place where everbody says IANAL. This is a place about IT. And yet most people are more concerned about the law then about the technical side of it all.
Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
Senator Stampingston: Gentlemen, it's clear that we're in a universally precarious situation. Dethklok has summoned a troll.
General Krosier: That's impossible, there's no such thing as trolls.
Senator Stampingston: Then how do you explain the dead unicorns?
Um... Okay, moving on to the next call...
Don't they teach students about man-in-the-middle attacks anymore, these days?
If Pandora's box is destined to be opened, *I* want to be the one to open it.
From what I've heard of jury duty and from people I know who have had jury duty, they strongly emphasis only whether or not the law was broken and will screen for anyone thinking. Guess if they can't get a plea bargin, they go for the next easiest thing.
If you're in the US, you should know your rights as a jury member:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jury_nullification
this way they can then rmeove that tower later after there illegal spying is done
How does an AT&T customer know he is connecting to a fake tower?
He gets a signal.
AT&T Won't Block Black Hat Eavesdropping Demo at Black Hat conference.
But I'm sure they'll be blocking the wireless hacking demos at DEFCON.
See ya'll there, gotta love these 2 conferences.