Slashdot Mirror
Anonymizing Wi-Fi Device Project Unexpectedly Halted
An anonymous reader notes that a project to develop an anonymizing Wi-Fi device has been canceled under mysterious circumstances. The device, called Proxyham, was unveiled a couple weeks ago by Rhino Security Labs. They said it would use low-frequency radio channels to connect a computer to public Wi-Fi hotspots up to 2.5 miles away, thus obscuring a user's actual location. But a few days ago the company announced it would be halting development and canceling a talk about it at Def Con, which would have been followed with a release of schematics and source code. They apologized, but appear to be unable to say anything further.
"In fact, all [the speaker] can say is that the talk is canceled, the ProxyHam source code and documentation will never be made public, and the ProxyHam units developed for Las Vegas have been destroyed. The banner at the top of the Rhino Security website promoting ProxyHam has gone away too. It's almost as if someone were trying to pretend the tool never existed." The CSO article speculates that a government agency killed the project and issued a gag order about it. A post at Hackaday calls this idea absurd and discusses the hardware needed to build a Proxyham. They say using it would be "a violation of the Computer Fraud & Abuse Act, and using encryption over radio violates FCC regulations. That’s illegal, it will get you a few federal charges — but so will blowing up a mailbox with some firecrackers." They add, "What you’re seeing is just the annual network security circus and it’s nothing but a show."
"In fact, all [the speaker] can say is that the talk is canceled, the ProxyHam source code and documentation will never be made public, and the ProxyHam units developed for Las Vegas have been destroyed. The banner at the top of the Rhino Security website promoting ProxyHam has gone away too. It's almost as if someone were trying to pretend the tool never existed." The CSO article speculates that a government agency killed the project and issued a gag order about it. A post at Hackaday calls this idea absurd and discusses the hardware needed to build a Proxyham. They say using it would be "a violation of the Computer Fraud & Abuse Act, and using encryption over radio violates FCC regulations. That’s illegal, it will get you a few federal charges — but so will blowing up a mailbox with some firecrackers." They add, "What you’re seeing is just the annual network security circus and it’s nothing but a show."
Gag orders and national security letters have no place in the Land of the Free.
This should be too obvious to even be worth saying.
Or maybe 100% vaporware without a feasible implementation in sight? Was a working prototype ever presented? Was a sound technical concept ever presented?
Which is presumably why they called it "Proxyham".
Of course it wasn't.
Do you really think a bunch of guys in dark suits didn't show up and basically threaten them with jail time?
As paranoid as is sounds, these days I think it is entirely plausible that a national security letter or somesuch was used to say "if you tell anybody about this, we will put you in a deep dark hole ... whether it's for the rest of your life or marking the end of it is your choice".
This technology will never see the light of day, unless it's used by some three letter agency full of fascists.
Welcome to modern reality. Where all that crazy shit from the 80s is now true.
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
Do you really think a bunch of guys in dark suits didn't show up and basically threaten them with jail time?
Yes.
As paranoid as is sounds, these days I think it is entirely plausible that a national security letter or somesuch was used to say "if you tell anybody about this, we will put you in a deep dark hole ...
It is using a commercially available product for the purpose it was designed. If it was that illegal to do, the FCC would have confiscated all of Ubiquity's product and levied a fine for violation of the FCC regulations.
This technology will never see the light of day,
You can buy them from more than 200 distributors worldwide. The genie is out of the bottle, the horse has left the barn. It's not the full system, but anyone with any technical proficiency in networking can put it together in their sleep almost.
I have a system with a pair of COTS 5GHz bridge wireless boxes that does exactly the same thing this system is supposed to do. I fear no dark suits telling me to stop.