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TEMPEST vs Direct Observation

Comment comment by VnutZ on 02 May 2007

I'm actually amazed that despite all the network security and hoopla regarding IT these days that basic physical security is not more prominent. I can just gaze out our office building's windows and peer into ... easily 100+ different offices in Times Square. A pair of binoculars or a spotting scope is all that is necessary to read the monitor or the physical documents of those across the street.

Perhaps such corporate espionage is more rampant than I know thus far. But it does strike me as ridiculously easy. I'm sure the government snoops feel the same way. They have all kinds of cool and powerful tools ... but most of the time they're probably not even necessary.

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RE: TEMPEST vs Direct Observation by GeistX :: NR0

I guess its kind of a blessing then that as a UNIX Admin, my employers have always seen fit to stick me in a windowless office in the basement.

Posted 02 May 2007, Hide, Parent, Reply
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RE: TEMPEST vs Direct Observation by gnifyus :: NR7

I was going to say that anything you might see on computer screens through binoculars in other office buildings would be so boring…. but then I thought of things like insider stock tips…..hmm.

I think anything that is really top secret is probably pretty hidden. I know of a guy who was a contract computer programmer for General Dynamics. He had to enter his work area through an airlock; definitely no windows, and couldn't even go to the bathroom without a security guy accompanying him.

I know it's not exactly the same concept, but I bet if you pointed a cantenna at those buildings you would be amazed at the number of unsecured networks and rogue access points that would show up. My neighborhood could practically be considered a "hotspot", there are so many people who just plug their new wireless routers in right out of the box and say, "Look, Martha, it works!"

Posted 02 May 2007, Hide, Parent, Reply