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Russian Federal Guard Service "Upgrades" To Electric Typewriters
Razgorov Prikazka writes "The Russian Federal Guard Service (FSO), who are in charge of protecting high level politicians like president Putin (amongst others), are 'upgrading' to electric typewriters for writing sensitive documents. They have found out that computers pose a security risk and this is their answer to it. On first sight this seems like a very pragmatic and cost-efficient thing to do. However, the FSO has its roots in the KGB and those were the ones who placed keystroke loggers on the popular IBM Selectric electric typewriter 40 years ago! So how much safer does this make them?"
I remember reading a slashdot story years ago where researchers were able to determine which keys on a computer keyboard were pressed just by the sound they produced mechanically. I would think it would be even easier to use this technique against a typewriter.
Better known as 318230.
The Ball-type IBM Selectric typewriters had a flaw that made it easy to tell what was being said just by the sound and delay between characters. You didn't even have to have the listening device in the typewriter, it could be across the room if it was "directional" enough.
While you could probably decode a lever-type typewriter's activity from just a good sound recording, it's probably much harder.
Oh, and as for trying to decode an inkjet- or thermal- electric typewriters just by the noise, "good luck with that."
Of course, today, if you can plant spy equipment in the room where the person is typing and you are good and well-funded, you don't need to rely on the noise the typewriter makes. Or, to put it another way, if you have a determined adversary who is significantly better than you, it's probably "game over" before the game even begins.
Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
However, the FSO has its roots in the KGB and those were the ones who placed keystroke loggers on the popular IBM Selectric electric typewriter 40 years ago! So how much safer does this make them?
"Somewhat".
If your adversary has physical access to any piece of hardware, it's impossible to secure. Period. One can install a keystroke logger on a modern computer keyboard as well. Switching to non-networked, 'dumb', electric typewriters doesn't block this avenue for attack.
On the other hand, depending on the typewriter's features, it will be very difficult or impossible to remotely compromise, or to compromise using non-hardware approaches. Entire classes of attacks are rendered irrelevant.
To be fair, this does introduce some new potential avenues for attack--increased physical document handling means additional risks related to moving and securing bits of paper.
~Idarubicin
"Conversation was invented by humans to reveal secrets. We use it to sweet talk our way into people's business. You know who has safe conversations? Ants. They talk by vomiting chemicals into each other’s mouths. They get right down to brass tacks. Bleh! Which way’s the picnic? Bleh! That way. Humans are more evolved. We spy."
A while back someone did some research and published it on keystroke logging via audio capture. They found they were able to reliably determine what someone was typing just from the sound of their typing. I have to imagine that would work here.
http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2005/09/14_key.shtml
Though, maybe they also run white noise generators in the office?
"I opened my eyes, and everything went dark again"
In this modern era many people forget that typewriters had a *huge* security hole. The ink ribbons they used, in the right hands, were practically a "tape backup" of everything typed at that typewriter.
joined by quantum entanglement and you can send messages across vast distances like they do in Fringe across universes.
Jesus was a compassionate social conservative who called individuals to sin no more.
Thanks, AC, for the link. Very interesting story!
In an ironic twist, I present this paragraph from page 23 of the report:
"Eight months after the GUNMAN discovery, the story broke in the press. By highlighting the damage, press coverage helped to focus the attention of the U.S. government on improving the security of its information."
Perhaps Ed Snowden or Bradley Manning can present this in their trials.
John