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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.
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...
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.
...critical systems are now running in a decentralized manner...
Not so. Your entire internet is still in the hands of a small group that can cut your connection at any time with a simple flip of a switch or drop of an anchor.
For justice, we must go to Don Corleone
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
--
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.
I wonder how many will actually cut AT&T some slack or give them credit for NOT interfering?
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.
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.
that would require you get on the Jury - and be able to think for your self.. this is a quality that they try to screen out. they want yes/no's not people who ask why?
'...if only "Jumping to a Conclusion" was an event in the Olympics.'
To the person who modded me down,
I understand the difficulty you must have. Life must be very stressful for you, these days. Having to groom the perfect goatee, spend all your time at Starbucks, and shop for black turtlenecks can take it's toll on a person.
But please understand, what I did is known colloquially as a joke. Please look it up, while you still have a connection to the internet. And if you are doing this from a home computer, please let me advise you to use the scroll bars. Swiping your finger across the monitor just makes you look silly.