A $500 Open Source Tool Lets Anyone Hack Computer Chips With Lasers

IN MODERN MICROCHIPS, where some transistors have been shrunk to less than a 10th of the size of a Covid-19 virus, it doesn't take much to mess with the minuscule electrical charges that serve as the 0s and 1s underpinning all computing. 

A few photons from a stray beam of light can be enough to knock those electrons out of place and glitch a computer's programming. Or that same optical glitching can be achieved more purposefully—say, with a very precisely targeted and well timed blast from a laser. Now that physics-bending feat of computer exploitation is about to become available to far more hardware hackers than ever before.

At the Black Hat cybersecurity conference in Las Vegas next week, Sam Beaumont and Larry “Patch” Trowell, both hackers at the security firm NetSPI, plan to present a new laser hacking device they're calling the RayV Lite. 

Their tool, whose design and component list they plan to release open source, aims to let anyone achieve arcane laser-based tricks to reverse engineer chips, trigger their vulnerabilities, and expose their secrets—methods that have historically only been available to researchers inside of well-funded companies, academic labs, and government agencies. more

The Lasers are Coming - Killer Eyeglasses & Drones

For years, movies have teased us with the possibilities of augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR), from Minority Report to Iron Man. But unlike robotic insects and flying suits, AR and MR smart glasses are much closer to reality for everyday consumers. One of the major barriers has been consumers’ desire for lightweight smart glasses that resemble standard eyeglasses and can be worn all day, every day. Compact, chic designs require projection technology and batteries that are as small and power-efficient as possible, which has been difficult to achieve. The internet hype that AR glasses are just around the corner has given into the reality that there are a number of large problems to solve before mass deployment in the consumer space can begin. more

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Aerial drones are essentially the new improvised explosive devices (IEDs)—they’re relatively cheap and easily weaponized. Weaponized swarms of drones working together on a mission are an asymmetric threat that can quickly turn into an ugly situation. In the future, drones are expected to become faster, more autonomous, more difficult to detect or jam, and deadlier, with more sophisticated swarm attacks.

An arms race of sorts is quietly underway to be able to counter any countermeasures against drones. So the U.S. military is adopting a multilayered counter-drone approach to deal primarily with small drones (classified as Groups 1 and 2)—including commercial ones you can easily buy online and ones with fixed wings that look like tiny airplanes. Pinpoint accuracy at the speed of light makes high-energy lasers, a form of directed energy, one of the most promising options. more

FutureWatch - Spycam Detection using Phone Time-of-Flight Sensors

via theregister.com
"Sriram Sami, Bangjie Sun, and Sean Rui Xiang Tan, from National University of Singapore, and Jun Han from Yonsei University, describe how this might be done in a paper [PDF] titled "LAPD: Hidden Spy Camera Detection using Smartphone Time-of-Flight Sensors"... 

...smartphones are commonplace these days, so adding an app like LAPD is likely to be more convenient than carrying a dedicated bug or signal detector at all times. LAPD's goal is to be accessible, usable, and accurate, and to judge by the results reported in the paper, it hits those marks...

"The 'attackers' have all the power to place hidden cameras anywhere, and the public is, in contrast, generally defenseless," he explained. "That's why we're doing this work, and why we hope hidden camera detection can become more commonplace." Sami said he intends to release the source code for LAPD but has to coordinate that with his colleagues." more

New Holographic Camera Can See Around Corners – Or Inside Your Skull

It sounds like something out of Star Trek: the doctor aims a camera at your chest, and a computer generates a hologram of your heart and blood vessels. She enlarges the image and takes a look at some of your smallest capillaries, each beautifully rendered in sub-millimeter detail. 

But thanks to a team at Northwestern’s McCormick School of Engineering, that may soon be a reality. They’ve created a prototype technology capable of seeing around corners and through everything from fog to the human skull. Their results are published in the journal Nature Communications...

“Our technology will usher in a new wave of imaging capabilities,” he said. “Our current sensor prototypes use visible or infrared light, but the principle is universal and could be extended to other wavelengths. For example, the same method could be applied to radio waves for space exploration or underwater acoustic imaging.”...

“It’s like we can plant a virtual computational camera on every remote surface to see the world from the surface’s perspective,” explained Florian Willomitzer, first author of the study. “This technique turns walls into mirrors.”...

“It can be applied to many areas, and we have only scratched the surface,” he added. more

Just think of the benefits to the CIA... 
and eventually the trickle down to corporate espionage types.

 

FutureWatch: Laser Through a Keyhole Can Expose Everything in a Room (somewhat)

If you're worried about privacy, it might be time to cover up your front door's peephole.

Being able to see inside a closed room was a skill once reserved for super heroes. But researchers at the Stanford Computational Imaging Lab have expanded on a technique called non-line-of-sight imaging so that just a single point of laser light entering a room can be used to see what physical objects might be inside...

It’s an incredibly clever technique, and one day it could be a very useful technology for devices like autonomous cars that would potentially be able to spot potential hazards hidden around corners long before they’re visible to passengers in a vehicle, improving safety and obstacle avoidance...

The research could one day provide a way for police or the military to assess the risks of entering a room before actually breaking down the door and storming their way inside, using nothing but a small crack in the wall or a gap around a window or doorway.  more

In Other News... Laser Device Can Make Lightning Strike Specific Targets

An international team of researchers says that small lasers could be used to guide lightning strikes — much like Thor’s legendary hammer Mjölnir.

“It turns out that to deliver particles, you do not need high-intensity lasers, even low intensity like your laser pointer will be already enough,” Andrey Miroshnichenko, a researcher at the University of New South Wales in Canberra, Australia, told Agence France Presse of the work...

“We can imagine a future where this technology may induce electrical discharge from passing lightning, helping to guide it to safe targets and reduce the risk of catastrophic fires,” co-researcher Vladlen Shvedov from the Australian National University told AFP.

Or you could use it to smite your enemies. Just saying. more

With a Laser, Researchers Say They Can Hack Alexa and Other Assistants

Since voice-controlled digital assistants were introduced a few years ago, security experts have fretted that systems like Apple’s Siri and Amazon’s Alexa were a privacy threat and could be easily hacked.

But the risk presented by a cleverly pointed light was probably not on anyone’s radar.

Researchers in Japan and at the University of Michigan said Monday that they had found a way to take over Google Home, Amazon’s Alexa or Apple’s Siri devices from hundreds of feet away by shining laser pointers, and even flashlights, at the devices’ microphones. more

Spot on ID, or... "The Tell-Tale Heart"

via MIT Technology Review 

A new device, developed for the Pentagon after US Special Forces requested it, can identify people without seeing their face: instead it detects their unique cardiac signature with an infrared laser. While it works at 200 meters (219 yards), longer distances could be possible with a better laser. “I don’t want to say you could do it from space,” says Steward Remaly, of the Pentagon’s Combating Terrorism Technical Support Office, “but longer ranges should be possible.”... In the longer run, this technology could find many more uses, its developers believe... more

Like eavesdropping? 
(Spoiler Alert: Israeli scientists did this in 2009, and then improved it in 2014.) ~Kevin

TSCM Questions We Get - "How small is a bug's microphone?"

A. Very small.
You probably carry the one shown in the photo, in your cell phone.


In some cases, microphones are invisible. Before you say impossible, hear me out...

You are surrounded by items which can be commandeered for surveillance eavesdropping wherever you go. Solids and liquids conduct sound even better than air. Vibrations through these items may be picked up and amplified at some distance using: a piezoelectric contact microphone, a hydrophone, or light / sound beams (laser / ultrasonic).

Optimic1140 fiber optical microphone

There is also one esoteric microphone to consider—the fiber optic microphone. No wires. No electricity. Just connected to a clear glass thread.

It is so unusual, many people who claim to be technical surveillance countermeasures (TSCM) technicians don't know it exists.

So, when you add Technical Information Security Surveys to your organization's security program, ask the vendor what they know about fiber optic microphones. Good ones will tell you all about it, and how it works. They will also be impressed with you for asking.

Click here for more questions we get.

Israeli ‘Eavesdropper’ Hears You 1,000 Feet Away

A device developed by an Israeli scientist can pick up conversations from hundreds of feet away without a microphone. “Using a laser beam with a camera, we can detect the voice wave patterns of the sounds that a person makes when they are talking,” says Bar-Ilan University Professor Zev Zalevsky, who helped design the system. “We take these wave patterns and translate them back into voice, and thus can interpret what was said from even a long distance away.”

 The system is the latest use for a technology and device Zalevsky designed in 2011 together with Javier Garcia of the University of Valencia in Spain. Called the Opto-Phone, the device was designed to gather medical data about an individual, allowing doctors to read heartbeat, blood pressure or blood glucose levels from 100 meters away. With the latest tweaks to the Opto-Phone, Zalevsky told Channel 2 Tuesday night, the device can now detect voice wave patterns from up to 400 meters (about 1,200 feet) away. This makes it the perfect tool not only for “long-distance” medical diagnosis, but for long-distance eavesdropping, as well. 

Using a laser beam, an advanced camera and sensors, the Opto-Phone uses nano-photonics to detect movement on the surface of the body. This movement creates a “speckle pattern,” which can be read by the Opto-Phone. By analyzing this pattern, the system can “hear” the number of heartbeats in a person’s body, the rush of blood in the bloodstream and voice wave patterns as they bounce off two people engaged in a conversation. The technology is so precise, Zalevsky said, “we can differentiate between different people based on their position,” listening in on whatever they are involved in, Zalevsky told the Times of Israel. (more)

Laser Beam Eavesdropping - In the News Again

Since the 1970's, stories about laser listeners have periodically popped up in the news. The common thread is their magical ability to eavesdrop from far away using only an invisible beam of light. Fear mongering is the next element, closely followed by, "very expensive, only the government can buy one."

The reporters are either clueless or haven't done any decent research. Their information sources have vested interests: like governments spreading disinformation; or "de-bugging experts" and spyshop owners hoping the publicity will boost their business. Funny, a working device is never demonstrated, and nobody even claims first-hand knowledge.

Today, the BBC fell victim. Here is the story they published...

Not true.

The UK government has warned the Guardian newspaper that foreign agents could use laser technology to eavesdrop on them, in the wake of recent surveillance leaks. What are laser listening devices and are they effective? (more)

The theory is sound. CD / DVD players use it on a small scale. YouTube is full of videos demonstrating the technique... under very controlled conditions, with less than sterling results. But, is it really a practical surveillance tool? Click here for our research.

Laser Beam Eavesdropping - The Trinidad and Tobago Case

Trinidad and Tobago ‎- At the height of the Section 34 controversy, a sophisticated laser spying device was discovered in the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Roger Gaspard, SC. T&T Guardian (newspaper) investigations revealed the device was detected in November last year inside the conference room of the DPP’s office at the Winsure Building, Richmond Street, Port-of-Spain. Gaspard offered no comment on the matter when contacted by the T&T Guardian on Wednesday. Investigations revealed the device was detected after a search was carried out by both foreign and local information technology (IT) experts on the fifth floor of the building.

The T&T Guardian learned that an invisible infrared beam that is used to transmit conversations was found in the conference room, which is where the DPP normally holds briefings on various high-level cases involving past and former government officials and other matters such as the Calder Hart probe and the Clico enquiry. The conference room is also used when the advice of the DPP is sought by police officers on homicides and other criminal offences. On Monday, Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley, during debate of a no-confidence motion laid by him against Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and her Government, revealed 31 e-mails, one of which referred to a plan to spy on the DPP during the Section 34 debacle and to offer him a judgeship so as to be able to replace him in the office...

The bug at the DPP’s office was discovered after Gaspard received a tip-off and arranged for his office to be swept for spying and bugging devices by highly-qualified IT experts. The IT experts detected beams that showed a laser was being used to spy on the DPP’s conversations. One of the IT specialists who was part of the exercise revealed, “They detected certain rays that showed a laser was being used to spy on the DPP. “Someone can stay from the Port-of-Spain International Waterfront Centre and once they have a straight line of sight, and using the laser device, the conversations of the DPP can be heard.” The T&T Guardian understands the find sent shockwaves through the DPP’s office and steps have been taken since then to conduct frequent independent security sweeps of the building to ensure it is clean of such devices.

...there have been calls for an independent investigation. (more)

Even though the details are sketchy, I can think of about four good reasons why this particular "find" might be baloney. Laser listening systems have been built and patented, however, physics still makes this type of eavesdropping very difficult in the field. Read up on laser beam eavesdropping here. ~Kevin

Sand Sized Gyroscopes to Track You Anywhere

Mini-gyroscopes developed to guide smartphones and medical equipment...
Prof. Koby Scheuer of Tel Aviv University`s School of Physical Engineering is now scaling down this crucial sensing technology for use in smartphones, medical equipment and more futuristic technologies.

Working in collaboration with Israel`s Department of Defense, Prof. Scheuer and his team of researchers have developed nano-sized optical gyroscopes that can fit on the head of a pin — and, more usefully, on an average-sized computer chip — without compromising the device`s sensitivity... Measuring a millimeter by a millimeter (0.04 inches by 0.04 inches), about the size of a grain of sand, the device can be built onto a larger chip that also contains other necessary electronics...

Nano-gyroscopes integrated into common cellphones could provide a tracking function beyond the capabilities of existing GPS systems. "If you find yourself in a place without reception, you would be able to track your exact position without the GPS signal," he says.
There are benefits to medical science as well... (more)

Future Room Lighting to Double as Light "Wi-Fi"... or eavesdropping device.

VLC transmits data wirelessly using visible light as its medium instead of radio waves... Harold Haas, professor of Mobile Communications at the University of Edinburgh, successfully demonstrated the VLC technology at a TED conference. He streamed a HD video to a screen using a LED light bulb as transmitter.

Haas co-founded PureVLC, a corporate spin-off of the university’s research project, to turn the technology into commercially viable devices. The company is now beta-testing its first product: the Smart Lighting Development Kit (SLDK)...
 
Because the light changes superfast it is invisible to the human eye and can still function as normal lighting.

A standard Ethernet port connects the ceiling unit to a data network. The unit encodes the data onto the current feeding the LEDs. The desktop unit receives the data, decodes it and transfers it to a laptop or desktop computer. It can also send data to the ceiling unit. (more)

FutureWatch - The End of Privacy, Contraband & Cancer?!?!

via gizmodo.com...
Hidden Government Scanners Will Instantly Know Everything About You From 164 Feet Away

Within the next year or two, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security will instantly know everything about your body, clothes, and luggage with a new laser-based molecular scanner fired from 164 feet (50 meters) away. From traces of drugs or gun powder on your clothes to what you had for breakfast to the adrenaline level in your body—agents will be able to get any information they want without even touching you.

And without you knowing it. The technology is so incredibly effective that...

...But the machine can sniff out a lot more than just explosives, chemicals and bioweapons. The company that invented it, Genia Photonics, says that its laser scanner technology is able to "penetrate clothing and many other organic materials and offers spectroscopic information, especially for materials that impact safety such as explosives and pharmacological substances."

...Genia Photonics has 30 patents on this technology, claiming incredible biomedical and industrial applications—from identifying individual cancer cells in a real-time scan of a patient, to detecting trace amounts of harmful chemicals in sensitive manufacturing processes. (more)