[cryptome] Re: Is This a Hoax: Backdoor to Wireless Router

  • From: doug <douglasrankine2001@xxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: cryptome@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Fri, 04 Jul 2014 22:24:24 +0100

HI Andrew,
Tx for taking the time to reply. I have a lot to learn on these things being a newbie to security and computers and such like. I have heard of Wireshark, but did wonder what it was all about, and I did visit the website and I did think about downloading it...but then I couldn't think of anyone with whom I could exchange information which had to be so secure and secret...or even confidential;;but after reading n Cryptome at url; 
http://cryptome.org/2014/07/nsa-tor-de.htm
I thought the better of it. Apparently, according to the report...and I don't know how "true" it is or how much credibility it has, amongst those whom I respect in the security industry. I have looked at "Tails" and at "TOR" and am most annoyed to find out that the NSA considers me as an "extremist" because i am one of those people who would like to protect their privacy. Now, I have never downloaded TOR or Tails, because i have yet to find a need for it, but I don't see why my curiosity should be rewarded by being considered to be extreme. it makes me wonder about the NSA and its philosophy is all about, in the sense that does it, as an organisation, and as a group of individuals working in concert, consider itself as the "norm"... And if it does, hopefully someone can explain to me what this norm actually is. Norms and extremities are sociological and statistical terms which refer to what kind of behaviour lies inside and outside that of which is considered acceptable as the normal. Now, the problem for me, is that I have never met a "normal" person in my life, and would certainly accept that I do have extremes of behaviour, my little obsessions, urges, drives, instincts and learned behaviour, dominate my life, of that I have no doubt. And though I consider myself as perfectly normal, i do understand that others can see me as perverse and extreme...c'est la vie. 
ATB
Dougie

On 04/07/14 17:02, Andrew Hornback wrote:

Doug,
Changing/adding a password and changing the name of the network is more than 90+% of the population can be bothered to do these days -which is what makes them so susceptible...
NAT and firewall are a good start - I'm somewhat on the paranoid side (being a life-long IT type guy) and I'm aspiring to implement a system similar to the DISA's HBSS (Host Based Security Solution) that gets deployed to all ADP assets in the DoD...
The way that my setup works is that the hub (a relatively dumb device, by networking standards) is inserted between the ISP and the router - since the ISP delivers my broadband connection as a pure Ethernet drop, I can use the hub to connect another machine in, before the router level, and "sniff" all of the traffic going back and forth. Using a product like Wireshark (free software, highly recommended, been using it for years), I can look at all of the traffic that's leaving my network as well as what's coming in from the ISP. See where data is coming from, where it's going... full transparency of all of the data going back and forth as well as the content. By dumping all of this over to a second machine that acts as a simple recording and analysis system, I can track hacking attempts, attacks, etc. and report them as needed. 

--- A
"InfoSec - it pays to be paranoid..."
On Fri, Jul 4, 2014 at 7:38 AM, doug <douglasrankine2001@xxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:douglasrankine2001@xxxxxxxxxxx>> wrote: 

    Hi Andrew,
    Tx for the information...I had a look at the url you provided> I
    didn't really understand all this techy stuff and it is nice to
    have it explained in a language I can understand.  I have, on a
    number of occasions looked at my router, but I must say, apart
    from securing it with a password and changing the name of the
    network, I am frightened to touch any of the settings in the
    router in case I screw things up, so I leave it at the default
    position.

    I have a wireless router and a home network, and a number of
    devices such as computers, tablets, mobile phones and a printer
    and a back up disk which are connected to it on occasion.  I
    understand that the home network and the one connected to the ISP
    are separated by a NAT or firewall which is supposed to protect my
    home network from outside intrusion.

    What would be the benefit of putting in traffic analysis software
    and what kind of software would you recommend, and where would I
    put it...in my computer or on the phone line...In this area we
    have poor broadband width anyway so downloads and uploads are very
    slow.
    ATB
    Dougie.


    On 03/07/14 19:34, Andrew Hornback wrote:

    Ryan,

    Good points, but I think this might explain part of my tactic -
    http://www.asante.com/support/routerguide/faqs/hardwared.html

    Understanding the differences between hubs, switches and routers
    is paramount to starting to understand TCP/IP...

    --- A

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