Penetration Testing mailing list archives

Re: Covert Microphone Application


From: Volker Tanger <vtlists () wyae de>
Date: Sun, 30 Jul 2006 11:52:39 +0200

Greetings!

On Fri, 28 Jul 2006 07:45:17 +0200
Tonnerre Lombard <tonnerre.lombard () sygroup ch> wrote:

On Thu, 2006-07-27 at 21:03 -0600, Ralph Forsythe wrote:
I just don't see any unequivocal method of making sure you're secure
against this, unless you switch it to a desktop PC with no
microphone port  and ban laptops from entering the room.

Also, there's a whole new business method in "forgetting" your iPod in
meeting rooms - of course with iPodLinux and gramofile or something
similar that is not necessary displayed. Can give you quite some time
in terms of mp3 recordings.

Or as "on demand" audio espionage device: most cellphones with
attached headset can be switched to auto-answer. In this case you
usually cannot switch the cellphone to silent mode - to prevent exactly
this attack vector.

But you can switch off vibration alert - and when loading the cellphone
with custom ring tones usually noone will notice. Such ringtones could
be ultrasonic WAV/MP3s (http://www.ultrasonic-ringtones.com/) or
similarily MIDI file with a single ultra-quiet (velocity=1),
extremely high or low and ultra-short tone.

The only problem for a few cellphone models is to find a combined
headset+charger plug if it only has one connector (like the Siemens
models) if you want to install a "permanent" listening device. But then
the excuse "I thought it was stolen - it must have slipped out" does not
hold anymore.  ;-)

Bye

Volker


-- 

Volker Tanger    http://www.wyae.de/volker.tanger/
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