Questions tagged [physical]

The use of physical measures (such as locks and tamper-proofing) or policies (such as Clean Desk) in order to protect sensitive information from unauthorized access.

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131 votes
2 answers
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What to do if caught in a physical pentest?

I've seen a lot of people talk about how to pentest and how NOT to get caught during engagements but have a hard time finding "How to behave when caught during a Red Team engagement". Red Teams are ...
ChocolateOverflow's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
282 views

When a closed-source company hires somebody to audit their code, is the auditor forced to do it in the company's office?

Let's say that ACME, Inc. is making closed-source software. It's closed for a reason (they don't want it leaving their building other than in compiled form). Now, they are hiring some company/person ...
Marvin the paranoid android's user avatar
42 votes
3 answers
7k views

Why are my plastic credit card and activation code sent separately?

Capital One recently sent my plastic credit card by post mail and its activation code by a separate post mail. What security problem does this mitigate? If a rogue element has access to my mail box ...
Lord Loh.'s user avatar
  • 559
0 votes
1 answer
180 views

External hard drive

It's possible the external hard drives have been compromised in the company I work for. It would be a huge waste of money to replace them all without detection and if the current ones are compromised, ...
Jacco's user avatar
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0 votes
3 answers
3k views

Is it safe to throw away debit card receipts in the bin?

In relation to this question about credit card receipts, is it safe to just throw away receipts where I have used a debit card? In addition, would it be any more worth while burning/shredding ...
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96 votes
3 answers
11k views

What is the purpose of the rotating plate in front of the lock?

I am now in Poland and see these everywhere: The plate can rotate freely,when you insert the key, matching the groove, you rotate the key so it is aligned with the lock and then insert the key. What ...
Thomas's user avatar
  • 841
1 vote
1 answer
2k views

Requiring hardware key at boot-up on normal laptop

I am sure that a question like this already exists and has probably been answered. I just couldn't find any results (probably due to my inability to word my question correctly). We use laptops at ...
RM101's user avatar
  • 11
3 votes
1 answer
369 views

Is it Possible to Prevent a Physcial Attack on Server in Remote Data Center?

I've been using Amazon Web Services to run my Java application. However, due to high costs I'm looking into getting a dedicated server from Hetzner, a company based in Germany, which costs about 10-...
S.O.S's user avatar
  • 131
1 vote
2 answers
748 views

Mobile phone is picking up 13 bluetooth devices and not sure what they are?

I have a particular problem with a potential security breach. I bought a new device today that connects to my phone via Bluetooth. Nothing strange about that. Surprisingly when I turned Bluetooth on ...
Cromulent's user avatar
  • 1,113
1 vote
0 answers
254 views

An advanced adversary is targeting you - now what? - so what? [closed]

Consider the following: An advanced adversary is targeting you. He has the ability to watch most if not all of your network connections and the ones in the neighbourhood. He is sitting on numerous ...
hangingandchilling's user avatar
10 votes
1 answer
509 views

What steps should I take to ensure there are no unpleasant surprises in a recently purchased home?

After buying a house from another party (i.e. not new construction) what steps should I take to ensure the previous residents have not left behind anything unpleasant for me? I'm not worrying about ...
user204925's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
787 views

How to mitigate the new malicious USB cable USBHarpoon (NOT BadUSB) threat in an enterprise? [duplicate]

In this case, the victims may think they are using a generic USB cable, but the PC will recognize the cable as a Human Interface Device, much like it would a mouse or keyboard, giving the attacker ...
Filipon's user avatar
  • 1,264
1 vote
1 answer
2k views

Why should I leave a U2F device always plugged in to a computer?

Over at the Yubikey website they mention that the Nano or 5C Nano series is meant to be always inserted into a computer. I've seen some other sites mention the Nano is good for servers. But why would ...
RansuDoragon's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
186 views

Security and thumb drive [duplicate]

If my laptop is locked, can a thumb drive be able to still infect my computer, or create a backdoor, or any other security risk if it's plugged into it. If so what are some example
empty's user avatar
  • 67
0 votes
1 answer
114 views

Does the number of fingerprints we leave represent a security threat to the banking system?

A number of major banks are allowing users to log in to their bank accounts with only fingerprints. It was occurring to me, though: how many fingerprints does the average person leave per day? How ...
EJoshuaS - Stand with Ukraine's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
494 views

What is the fastest way to brute force a hardware code

Where I live, there is a keypad with numbers from 0 to 9 and two letters, A and B. Using it I noticed that the code was checked on the last 5 things entered. If I were to try every code on the keypad,...
WayToDoor's user avatar
  • 573
1 vote
2 answers
155 views

Liquid security scenario

I'm a part of a small team of undergraduate developers taking a course on developing Arduino and Raspberry Pi applications with a focus on the Internet of Things. Our current task is to imagine, ...
Christian Westbrook's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
379 views

Is there any way somebody could hack into my brain? [closed]

Before you close this, I'm actually serious. Could somebody, in theory, have conked me out behind a Chiles, circular-sawed my brain out, and plugged me up to a machine capable of brain simulation? The ...
Sammaron's user avatar
107 votes
19 answers
24k views

Defence methods against tailgating

This is a follow-up question to this one: Roles to play when tailgaiting into a residential building How do you protect yourself or your company against tailgaters? What is the best answer when you ...
Lithilion's user avatar
  • 1,669
0 votes
4 answers
218 views

Assessing risks Physical security of devices

I have several devices and flash drives that need to be secured. I haven't been able to find any good physical security measures to protect those devices. What are my options? What do you use, if ...
Perry's user avatar
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47 votes
7 answers
15k views

How resistant are barcodes and QR-codes against attempts to change stored data?

Assume we want to protect a document against manipulating and forging. So, we encode some sensitive information of the document and store it in a QR-code inserted in the document. Can we be sure that ...
Questioner's user avatar
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14 votes
2 answers
1k views

Securing a Laptop from a Foreign Intelligence Agency

What would be the best practices for securing a single-purpose Windows laptop against a determined foreign intelligence agency from tampering with data on the machine? The machine would be used ...
RogerMKE's user avatar
  • 243
5 votes
1 answer
546 views

If rowhammer only results in capacitor discharge, how can it flip 0 to 1?

In rowhammer, why will changing the voltage on one row cause the other row to open/close? Is it related to induction? How can it change bits from 0 to 1? I understand from 1 to 0 - voltage discharge, ...
789's user avatar
  • 153
1 vote
1 answer
294 views

Are unbranded home security camera secure? [closed]

I plan on buying a couple of cheap cameras for my home. I plan to put them just inside the doors like the laundry door, I won't be putting them in the bedroom or living room. My major concern is how ...
Nigel Fds's user avatar
  • 463
4 votes
2 answers
376 views

resource on physical security that calls out doorknobs as being more secure than door handles

A manager invited me to try and test the physical security of his office door lock (by non-destructive means, i.e. not ramming the door down). I found that since the door opened from inside by a ...
Bennett's user avatar
  • 653
13 votes
1 answer
3k views

How does full memory encryption in newer processes protect against DMA attacks?

Upcoming Intel CPUs have TME, current AMD processors have SME. These are full-memory encryption techniques to protect against physical attacks such as cold boot attacks. Both support encrypting the ...
nh2's user avatar
  • 583
3 votes
3 answers
11k views

Why is an HSM required to protect CA certificates (rather than a regular USB token)?

Typical USB tokens (Nitrokey, YubiKey...) allow an everyday user to store PGP keys and use them to encrypt email, harddrives and so on. The same vendors also offer distinct products called HSMs (...
lofidevops's user avatar
  • 3,630
0 votes
0 answers
511 views

Feasibility of using serial port/cable to act as a simple data diode?

I'm trying to determine the feasibility of using a serial port/cable to act as a simple and cheap data diode. I'll be connecting 2 Windows PCs (1 of which is on a secured network) using a 1-way null ...
Joshua's user avatar
  • 101
9 votes
4 answers
716 views

Why would taking my laptop home be encouraged for security reasons?

My company's infosec policy contains a statement to the effect that I am encouraged to bring my laptop home with me to that it never leaves my possession/control. This doesn't seem useful, from a ...
user11111's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
237 views

Is there some type of x-ray that can see through HSM or shielded integrated circuit?

I know that security-oriented products can easily protect their contents from even the most sensitive commercial x-rays, which can see objects at about 0.5µm. But let's put cost limits aside (or ...
fernacolo's user avatar
  • 254
3 votes
1 answer
7k views

Is it possible to bypass USB access restriction placed by the Active Directory? [closed]

I've been tasked with an onsite engagement to see what I can find from one of their laptops. They have a policy in place to block USB access through the Active Directory, e.g. When you try to access ...
Anderson's user avatar
  • 495
132 votes
5 answers
27k views

Is momentary physical access dangerous?

I’m asking the question with these conditions: The device (computer or mobile phone) is in a running state. “Momentary” refers to a reasonably short period of time, such as 5 to 10 seconds. The ...
tonychow0929's user avatar
  • 2,257
4 votes
1 answer
467 views

Can an air-gapped PC receive malicious code even when completely clean, apart from all physically attacks?

The Basic question is in the title there are more questions bellow but it is in context of the question in the title...hopefully What i have read is that it can eavesdrop the Airgap PC via acoustic ...
net ist's user avatar
  • 43
1 vote
0 answers
102 views

How to secure unique identification of physical resources in a distributed system?

I'm attempting to build a mechanism to prevent frauds and provide traceability of physical resources in a distributed system. The idea is straightforward: the resource travels hop-by-hop on a network ...
Gabriel Rebello's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
244 views

Possible physical interface attacks on a server [duplicate]

Let's say you have a server at a data centre, but a hacker manages to find a way in and has access to your server. What are the attack possibilities with all the interfaces available? Are there any ...
Kevin C's user avatar
  • 151
-1 votes
1 answer
141 views

International communications after nuclear fallout [closed]

Is there a (nuclear fallout) scenario imaginable where international communications are thrown back to the stone age? Meaning: Satellites are EMP'd out of the sky Transoceanic cables are cut ...
Wouter Chompff's user avatar
34 votes
7 answers
6k views

What are the real physical risks of casual social media publishing?

aka "how to scare my family into stopping publishing their life online?" I do not publish personal photos / opinions publicly online as a rule. I never gave hard thoughts about that but I believe ...
WoJ's user avatar
  • 9,028
7 votes
1 answer
442 views

What are good methods of visual security?

What are good methods of visually securing sensitive information that might appear on your screen from the outside world? An example to illustrate my question would be the following: You're sat in ...
li x's user avatar
  • 462
-2 votes
2 answers
702 views

Creating portable bash terminal & cmd to USB [closed]

Developing my toolkit and I want to have a safe edition of cmd.exe and bash on a usb. Why? These can be tampered with by attackers and I want a version I know is safe from manipulation. Any ...
Simonhawk's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
2k views

Security and Veracrypt [closed]

I have a few questions about Security and Veracrypt and hope you can clarify it for me. I don't want the VeraCrypt hidden volume I created to be damaged. If I mount the hidden volume and transfer ...
Guest's user avatar
  • 21
157 votes
12 answers
36k views

4-dial combination padlock: Is it more secure to zero it out or to blindly spin the dials after locking?

I am partially responsible for some resources protected by a 4-dial combination lock like this one: There are two things that people will usually do after they've locked it: reset all the digits to ...
Peter Schilling's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
237 views

What security standards apply to physical security for an infosec office

I'm looking for actual specific standards that apply to physical access control for Information Security office space. Long story short, our building manager wants an open office concept, and in order ...
IBUS's user avatar
  • 21
4 votes
2 answers
870 views

Securely storing account credentials/information for critical company services - the bus factor

Question: I'm trying to figure out best practices for storing authentication credentials for critical company services - hosting services, domain registration services, recruiting portals, etc... To ...
Conor Mancone's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
280 views

What would 'best practice' look like in protecting critical infrastructure against state actor cyber attack?

I was reading this article from the New York Times, which details the alarming degree to which the IT systems running critical civic infrastructure have allegedly been compromised by Russian cyber ...
QA Collective's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
280 views

If and why should any personal information be destroyed before putting scrap paper into the recycle container?

Well this question may not be about computers, but it most definitely is about information security, so I'll give it a try... I've been repeatedly told in my life that I should always carefully check ...
gaazkam's user avatar
  • 5,985
-3 votes
1 answer
344 views

Why are mailboxes unsecure? [closed]

Why can anyone go up to a mailbox and just take the mail out of it? Some mailboxes, like at townhouses and apartments, have locks, but the mailboxes at single family homes that I have seen do not. Isn’...
Brandon's user avatar
2 votes
3 answers
5k views

Wired VS Wireless Mouse & Keyboard Security

Wired VS Wireless Mouse & Keyboard Security For someone who is trying to maintain the highest level of security, which option proposes the LEAST amount of security flaws? Wired Keyboard & ...
WatchDog's user avatar
41 votes
6 answers
10k views

How "scrambled" is the data on a RAID5 disk?

My concern is the disposal of a replaced disk from a private RAID5 disk array. I have had to replace a disk from my personal RAID5 disk-array. It had started developing errors, so out it went. But ...
Mausy5043's user avatar
  • 521
-1 votes
3 answers
2k views

Shutdown vs sleep

From a security point of view, is sleep safer than shutdown in laptops? Shutdown only needs to be done after monthly updates, since shutdown "saves" settings, "changes" etc, then reboots. Sleep only ...
Aoi. T_015's user avatar
5 votes
2 answers
3k views

Are DVDs vulnerable to firmware malware (and assorted questions)? [closed]

I have a few questions about DVD drives. Are DVD drives and SATA interfaces vulnerable to issues like BadUSB caused by being able to reprogram firmware of the drive or disk or even spreading to other ...
Aoi. T_015's user avatar

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