272
votes
Accepted
Search for military installed backdoors on laptop
If the device left your sight for any amount of time, replace it. It can no longer be trusted.
The cost to assure it can still be trusted significantly exceeds the cost of getting a new one
There is ...
- 67.1k
198
votes
Accepted
Is it theoretically possible to deploy backdoors on ports higher than 65535?
No, the port number field in a TCP header is technically limited to 2 bytes. (giving you 2^16=65536 possible ports)
If you alter the protocol by reserving more bits for higher ports, you're violating ...
- 45k
75
votes
Does Lawful Interception of 4G / the proposed 5G provide a back door for hackers as well?
Without access to the key, then the problem for attackers is the same as if there was no backdoor key: the attackers would have to break the encryption itself.
But ...
If we assume that the ...
- 132k
74
votes
Search for military installed backdoors on laptop
The main information we are lacking is your threat model.
Is it likely that the military targets you specifically, and would be willing to expend some resources on you? We don't need to know the ...
- 10.7k
73
votes
Accepted
Can the previewable option in file managers execute malware?
Yes, it is possible for previews to execute malicious code. Previews are created by checking the file type, and generating a thumbnail. For images, it resizes them. For videos, it decodes them, seeks ...
- 67.1k
40
votes
Accepted
How can you trust that there is no backdoor in your hardware?
The short answer is, you can't. The longer answer: there are a few things that can be done to increase your trust in hardware, though they also just shift the root of trust elsewhere.
A first ...
- 643
32
votes
Don't one-time recovery codes for 2FA introduce a backdoor?
tl/dr: One time recovery codes give account owners an option for regaining lost access. People who consider this an additional risk
can always ignore it or destroy it, but people who are worried ...
- 31.5k
30
votes
Search for military installed backdoors on laptop
In addition to what others have mentioned about detecting hardware changes (chiefly that it is nearly impossible), you should recognize that the most likely vector of compromise would be the ...
- 628
28
votes
Is it theoretically possible to deploy backdoors on ports higher than 65535?
No, it's that number because the TCP field for that is only 16 bits long (65536, but starting at 0), so it is fundamentally impossible to communicate a higher port than 65535
This post has a really ...
- 4,853
28
votes
Choosing laptop brand for company
For a normal company, you're not really in a position to identify or deal with hardware or firmware level compromises of any laptops you buy - so you mostly have to base your decision on the ...
- 14.6k
27
votes
Does Lawful Interception of 4G / the proposed 5G provide a back door for hackers as well?
While I agree that every point of schroeder's response is true, there are two deeper issues that make it so much more dangerous than the current model of security. Right now, if you install an ...
- 1,856
25
votes
Is it theoretically possible to deploy backdoors on ports higher than 65535?
If you rebuilt the TCP/IP stack locally on the machine, would the
overall concept not work due to how the RFC 793 - Transmission Control
Protocol Standard works as mentioned below in some of the ...
- 22.9k
23
votes
How would a backdoor gain persistence
You just need a way of reliably starting the process after the machine has booted.
This can range from -
asking Windows or another process to start it on boot (service, startup application etc)
...
- 11k
19
votes
How can Linux be secure if it allows for open source contributions from the public?
You are misunderstanding how open source software development works. Not just anyone can modify the kernel, so no "unknown developers from around the world" are submitting mysterious lines ...
- 67.1k
17
votes
Does Lawful Interception of 4G / the proposed 5G provide a back door for hackers as well?
If there's a backdoor, it will be abused. The question is when, not if it will be abused.
There are too many actors that could compromise such a system, and no easy way to plug the holes. If a ...
- 55.1k
16
votes
How can you trust that there is no backdoor in your hardware?
plonk's answer already outlines the technical options for increasing trust in your hardware, such as device inspection or open-source hardware.
However, at the end of the day, the thing is:
You need ...
- 1,634
15
votes
Find the security hole on my site and prevent it
hacker could access root folder of my host, create files and change permission of file to allow them to be executed.
So you have basically an unrestricted compromise of your system, and that includes ...
- 6,274
14
votes
Accepted
Is it possible to examine a Huawei device to answer definitively whether or not there is a security risk?
This article from the MIT Technology Review says that the U.K. has been vetting Huawei gear before deployment. It provides for only a limited level of assurance. The risks are loss of privacy, ...
- 953
14
votes
Search for military installed backdoors on laptop
Given what you've told us, you need to assume that not only is the laptop irrecoverably compromised, but so is your entire home network, everything connected to it, and every account you have anywhere ...
- 265
14
votes
Spying on a smartphone remotely by the authorities: feasibility and operation
There is no backdoor by design in the smartphones which would provide government agencies this kind of access. With a properly signed update process (i.e. only able to install signed updates, phone ...
- 205k
13
votes
What can I do about the Intel Management Engine?
Don't use the onboard NIC, which is how ME accesses the Internet. Instead, use a USB LAN device, or even one plugged into a PCI slot -- ME doesn't know how to use them!
- 149
12
votes
Are (Intel) chipsets spying on us?
What is he talking about?
He is referring to the Intel Manageability/Management Engine, or ME. It is a processor embedded in the chipset's PCH, and is typically composed of an ARC, ARCCompact, or ...
- 219
12
votes
How can anyone access Intel's "backdoor OS", MINIX?
AMT is is hardly a secret. It is a feature for IT departments to get pseudo-console access to PCs over the network and remotely manage them. (The common term is Out of Band or OOB management.)
It is ...
- 528
12
votes
Search for military installed backdoors on laptop
If they have all your passwords, as you say, and had possession of the laptop, the laptop, its operating system and software installed are all suspect. As suggested, nuke from orbit.
I would also be ...
- 184
11
votes
Are (Intel) chipsets spying on us?
My expectation is that this refers to the introduction of the Intel Management Engine (IME) which was around that timeframe. There have been a number of concerns around the security of this service ...
- 62.5k
10
votes
What can I do about the Intel Management Engine?
You can use me_cleaner to wipe all but the most essential portions of the ME. This isn't without risks, of course.
The NSA had Intel install a killswitch for it; you might be able to get your OEM ...
- 160
10
votes
Accepted
What is the difference between a backdoor and a rootkit?
Thomas Pornin's answer to the linked question starts off with a pretty good definition of a rootkit, I think:
A rootkit is a set of tools that you run on a target machine when you somehow gained ...
- 9,452
8
votes
What can I do about the Intel Management Engine?
Completely and permanently (unless you re-install it) disable Intel Active Management Technology, Intel Small Business Technology, and Intel Standard Manageability on Windows. These are components of ...
- 770
8
votes
How can Linux be secure if it allows for open source contributions from the public?
TLDR: You trust the people, their credentials and the companies' interests in securing their infrastructures.
As you would see in several closed an open source projects, the project is divided into ...
- 3,286
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible