Slashdot Mirror
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 suspect having a device that has only one purpose, as compared to a computer, it is much less likely to be compromised and much easier to detect.
Some people die at 25 and aren't buried until 75. -Benjamin Franklin
It's probably cheaper than trying to out-bid American hipsters for old Remington typewriters.
THL phish sticks
To place a keylogger on a typewriter you need physical access to the typewriter... to place a keylogger on a computer you need the internet...
I can see the advantage...
When your opponent has access to your hardware, you've already lost. That's true whether its a mechanical typewriter, electric typewriter, or a computer.
No written communications. This whole writing and reading thing is overrated, and apparently can be dangerous.
“He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
I was driving by Fort Meade today and I heard a collective scream of "PUUUUUTTTTTIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!" coming from the NSA headquarters. Every single PRISM employee screamed in agony.
sudo make me a sandwich
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
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.