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Ask Slashdot: How Do You Best Protect Client Files From Wireless Hacking?

Posted by BeauHD on from the safety-first dept.

dryriver writes: A client has given you confidential digital files containing a design for a not-yet-public consumer product. You need to work on those files on a Windows 10 PC that has a wireless chipset built into it. What can you do, assuming that you have to work under Windows 10, that would make 3rd party wireless access to this PC difficult or impossible? I can imagine that under a more transparent, open-source, power-user OS like Linux, it would be a piece of cake to kill all wireless access completely and reliably even if the system contains wireless hardware. But what about a I-like-to-phone-home-sometimes, non open-source OS like Windows 10 that is nowhere near as open and transparent? Is there a good strategy for making outside wireless access to a Windows 10 machine difficult or impossible?

3 of 140 comments (clear)

  1. Virtualization by hcs_$reboot · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Make a Linux partition via VirtualBox (...), put the encrypted data there through ssh / rsync, encrypt it and keep it encrypted when on disk.

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  2. Two options immediately suggest themselves: by Chris+Mattern · · Score: 4, Interesting

    1) Don't set up an access point. If you still need an access point, set up a encrypted one (which you should do anyways) and don't give the isolated PC the keys. WiFi isn't magic; if there's no place for it to go, it's not going to go anywhere.

    2) Put a Faraday cage around the antenna. This could be as simple as wrapping it in foil.

    1. Re:Two options immediately suggest themselves: by peragrin · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Exactly. My Samsung smart TV would randomly turn on the wireless and try to communicate outside. When I first set it up I used wifi, realized how stupid it was and switched it to the wired connection, which then was left unplugged.

      I upgraded my router and was screwing around when I noticed a new device was connecting( I used the same SSID and WPA key in both). After shutting everything down I turned on the TV and checked, wifi off,. I turned on wifi and bam. Same Mac address as my mystery guest. That was promptly banned. No wifi for you sneaky TV.

      So even if you give a device access the only way to be sure is to disconnect it thoroughly.and software can be sneaky.

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