From: HackaDay
Cell phone privacy modification
Recently I read an article on CNET that came as quite a surprise to me. The gist of the article is that the FBI, with the cooperation of the telco, can and does remotely activate the microphone on cell phones. This is done by exploiting the firmware upgrade feature of the phones and can be done even if a phone is turned off. Although none of my conversations would likely be of great interest to the FBI, I am still not overly happy about this development. I figure that if people continue to turn a blind eye to such things it will eventually be more and more routine to see things like this, this, this, this, this, this, and this. So, partly out of protest and partly because I will take any excuse to pick up the soldering iron, I decided to take matters into my own hands.
Conventional telephones (landlines) can not be exploited in this way because when they are not in use the microphone is physically disconnected from the phone line by the hookswitch. This behavior was easy to replicate in my cell phone using a reed switch. Luckily there were a couple of extra solder pads on the PCB that were electrically connected to the microphone and a nearby expansion port (never used) that could be removed to make some extra space. The reed switch is connected in parallel with the microphone and shorts it out when a magnet is brought into proximity. The magnet is mounted on the opposite half of the clamshell in a hole drilled using a step bit. Normally the microphone should not be energized when the phone is not in use so shorting it out will not cause any drain on the battery.
I just got a cell phone after years of staying away from them, i'm considering this mod for sure!
from megapanzer.com
As announced some weeks ago the Skype trojan sourcecode will be available for download. You find the source packages in the Tools & sources section if you are the impatient type.
The code is simple and straightforward. You have know malware development is no rocket science and if you expect big magic you are at the wrong place. The backdoor receives instructions from the dropzone and transferres audio files. The Skype-Tap intercepts the Skype function calls, extracts and dumps audio data to files, converts it to the mp3 format and encrypts it.
The code is not 100% complete. I removed the plugin system in the backdor and also the firewall bypassing system is not there anymore. I will publish both of them in separate tools later. If you don’t like this … well, I can’t help you. Thats how it is. Take it or leave it.
As always I am open for your opinions and criticism.
get it here: http://www.megapanzer.com/source-code/#skypetrojan
This comes to us by way of deadalanth, a user on the site, who sent us the following story:
The N.S.A. is back in the news regarding a new data center being constructed at Camp Williams, Utah. The facility is reported to be sited on a 200 acre tract with 120 acres of buildings. The center will consume 65 Mw of power when operational. Another is reported to be underway in San Antonio, Texas as well. There is alot of speculation regarding the mission of these new installations.
On May 20th 2009 Hugh D'Andrade of the EFF gave a presentation regarding N.S.A. wiretapping in San Francisco at a AT&T switching center located on Folsom street. The EFF has filed a class action lawsuit regarding the Folsom Street installation. The EFFs key witness in this case is a retired AT&T technician named Mark Klein. Mr. Klein has been branded as a "Whistleblower" for exposing room 641A in the Folsom street facility in 2006. He has written a book about his experiences while working at AT&T called "Wiring up the Big Brother Machine ... and Fighting It." News like this has kept the publics imagination for now.
This is not the first time that the N.S.A. has been reported to have eavesdropping equipment built into the very foundations of U.S. communication networks. In David Kahns book "The Codebreakers" he writes about N.S.A. cable taps in San Francisco. Mr. Kahn also alleges that U.S. commercial electronic hardware and software designs have been altered for surveillance purposes per N.S.A. request. I assume the N.S.A. has sufficient infrastructure in place to complete its fundamental mission of eavesdropping. This is the same old song and dance that we have known about since WW2.
I believe these new data centers have a different function: Netcentric Warfare or rather command and control of national assets in a integrated environment. The U.S. military is integrating closely with the N.S.A. to securely deploy highly technical weapons, countermeasures to cyber-warfare, and to improve joint NetOps. Traditional military organization is nearly useless. The face of war has changed. Several services and agencies are currently bifurcating to attack forces or administrative duties. The later never coming home from trouble spots.
New technology has set the bar too high to realistically control it with volunteer military personnel. The new military command and control will function within a highly secure Global Information Grid or GIG network staffed with highly trained and vetted N.S.A. response teams wielding enormous power on a level never before seen. Using the N.S.A. to maintain net hierarchy staffed with civilian and military career technicians makes common sense and puts real experience behind the wheel. Cyber warfare is a very real problem that encompasses not only the military but the civilian infrastructure of the country as well. The United States must protect both and effectively project force to maintain its status as a superpower.
The N.S.A. will always be snooping, that is the N.S.A.s' basic job and they have alot of SIGINT practice. Their experience with IT has made them the perfect agency to vastly improve military capabilities through secured automation. This organization is so byzantine that it does not exist overtly as it has no charter. They know how to keep a secret, have root, and are taking the tree to a whole new level. This new construction is extremely technical, it has way more scope than I think a lot of us realize. The U.S. seeks to maintain itself as the defacto world system administrator. This is another step to further capitalist globalization.
Wikileaks has released a document that has listed in it the ways "eco-terrorists" thwart law enforcement.
Activists are urged to follow a “need-to-know” rule in which detailed information regarding planned direct actions is compartmentalized and restricted to the individuals involved in the action. Activists are advised that when an individual within the group expresses reservations about a specific direct action, that individual should be removed from the direct action cell. This removal should be done gradually without destroying personal bonds to the individual, thereby reducing the individual’s incentive to retaliate by cooperating with law enforcement authorities.
Download the report Here
Also the hackbloc server has been on the fritz after I (stupidly) rm-rf /*-ed it We will be back at 100% hopefully by the weekend, sorry for any inconvience.
Counter Terror Expo News of a possible viable business model for P2P VoIP network Skype emerged today, at the Counter Terror Expo in London. An industry source disclosed that America's supersecret National Security Agency (NSA) is offering "billions" to any firm which can offer reliable eavesdropping on Skype IM and voice traffic.
The spybiz exec, who preferred to remain anonymous, confirmed that Skype continues to be a major problem for government listening agencies, spooks and police. This was already thought to be the case, following requests from German authorities for special intercept/bugging powers to help them deal with Skype-loving malefactors. Britain's GCHQ has also stated that it has severe problems intercepting VoIP and internet communication in general.
Skype in particular is a serious problem for spooks and cops. Being P2P, the network can't be accessed by the company providing it and the authorities can't gain access by that route. The company won't disclose details of its encryption, either, and isn't required to as it is Europe based. This lack of openness prompts many security pros to rubbish Skype on "security through obscurity" grounds: but nonetheless it remains a popular choice with those who think they might find themselves under surveillance. Rumour suggests that America's NSA may be able to break Skype encryption - assuming they have access to a given call or message - but nobody else.
The NSA may be able to do that: but it seems that if so, this uses up too much of the agency's resources at present.
"They are saying to the industry, you get us into Skype and we will make you a very rich company," said the industry source, adding that the obscure encryption used by the P2Pware is believed to change frequently as part of software updates.
The spyware kingpin suggested that Skype is deliberately seeking to frustrate national listening agencies, which seems an odd thing to do - Skype has difficulties enough getting revenues out of its vast user base at any time, and a paid secure-voice system for subversives doesn't seem like a money-spinner.
But corporate parent eBay, having had to write down $1.4bn already following its $2.6bn purchase of Skype back in the bubble-2.0 days of 2005, might see an opportunity here. A billion or two from the NSA for a backdoor into Skype might make the acquisition seem like a sensible idea.
We asked the NSA for comment, particularly on the idea of simply buying a way into Skype, but hadn't yet received a response as of publication.
According to Countdown with Keith Olbermann the NSA is spying on everyone and has access to ALL communications!
The article also explains that journalists were a group that were targeted. we can only assume that every protest group in the country is as well.
http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Whistleblower_Bushs_NSA_targeted_reporters...
Just another reason to encrypt everything you fucking do!
In San Antonio Texas a new facility is being built to continue data mining all Americans and those abroad by the NSA.
read about it here
In the same light, the NSA is being sought after by the EFF and the ACLU in it's warrant less wiretapping. The law suit also seeks to reveal what's in the secret room.
read about it here
and watch about the secret room here:
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