Use Arctic Alumina[0] to fill all USB and Firewire connectors, and embed RAM.
[0] http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_alumina_thermal_adhesive....
Cryogenically frozen RAM bypasses disk encryption methods (2008)
11–20 of 36 posts
Re: Cryogenically frozen RAM bypasses disk encryption methods (2008)
#12There's only one solution to prevent this, if you're operating a server that might be of federal interest (which might even be running an open proxy or TOR relay):
1) Rent an entire rack with a 19" rackmount UPS, as well as locks connected to the server to signal if the rack has been opened, and motion sensors, as well as a compass
2) If either the power from outside goes down, or the lock/cage alarm triggers, or the motion sensor/compass detects motion, wipe the RAM section that contains the HDD encryption keys and power down the machine.
Why a compass? Because in case the cops try to move the entire rack carefully (to not trigger a motion sensor with false-alarm filtering), and they rotate the rack, the compass will detect it.
Re: Cryogenically frozen RAM bypasses disk encryption methods (2008)
#13Kickstarter idea: Memory modules with an inbuilt temp sensor. Below 0c, they just stop. Put that tiny circuit into the silicon and the problem goes away.
Re: Cryogenically frozen RAM bypasses disk encryption methods (2008)
#14I heard that when power is interrupted ACPI still has time to inform the system, and not only that, the CPU will continue to execute many, many instructions before it's finally deprived of power. The computer seems to turn off instantly to us, but at the time scale the CPU operates at it's actually quite a while. I heard this was enough time for an operating system to detect power failure and zero out megabytes of memory.
Anyone know if this is true or not?
Re: Cryogenically frozen RAM bypasses disk encryption methods (2008)
#15Use Arctic Alumina[0] to fill all USB and Firewire connectors, and embed RAM. [0] http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_alumina_thermal_adhesive....
Wouldn't the embedded aluminum particles cause a risk of shorting out the electrical connections?
Re: Cryogenically frozen RAM bypasses disk encryption methods (2008)
#16I heard that when power is interrupted ACPI still has time to inform the system, and not only that, the CPU will continue to execute many, many instructions before it's finally deprived of power. The computer seems to turn off instantly to us, but at the time scale the CPU operates at it's actually quite a while. I heard this was enough time for an operating system to detect power failure and zero out megabytes of me…
> zero out megabytes of memory
Is there some reason that RAM has to be zeroed serially? It seems like nothing's theoretically stopping the entirety of a RAM memory module from being erased, in parallel, in a single memory write cycle.
Would it be very much more costly to design a memory module with a signal line that, when high, would e.g. turn a write into a write on every memory cell on the module?
Re: Cryogenically frozen RAM bypasses disk encryption methods (2008)
#17Use Arctic Alumina[0] to fill all USB and Firewire connectors, and embed RAM. [0] http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_alumina_thermal_adhesive....
Wouldn't the embedded aluminum particles cause a risk of shorting out the electrical connections?
> Pure Electrical Insulator:
> Arctic Alumina Adhesive is a pure electrical insulator, neither electrically conductive nor capacitive.
I'm not entirely sure I understand what it means by capacitive in this context, but, not conductive and the overall sentence there seems to strongly indicate that it specifically will not short out.
Re: Cryogenically frozen RAM bypasses disk encryption methods (2008)
#18There's only one solution to prevent this, if you're operating a server that might be of federal interest (which might even be running an open proxy or TOR relay): 1) Rent an entire rack with a 19" rackmount UPS, as well as locks connected to the server to signal if the rack has been opened, and motion sensors, as well as a compass 2) If either the power from outside goes down, or the lock/cage alarm triggers, or the…
Figure out which part of the rack points north, stick a really strong magnet there.
Also, spoof the GPS signal to avoid your next attack, wrap you in a faraday cage and broadcast an identical set of WiFi/Cellular signals.
My point isn't that any of this is more or less practical, simply that any protection you can dream up can be defeated if they know about it and are expecting it.
Also, your password was 'lovesexsecretgod' and you left SSH open :)
Re: Cryogenically frozen RAM bypasses disk encryption methods (2008)
#19So why don't OS's just zero out the RAM as part of the normal poweroff cycle now?
Re: Cryogenically frozen RAM bypasses disk encryption methods (2008)
#20There's only one solution to prevent this, if you're operating a server that might be of federal interest (which might even be running an open proxy or TOR relay): 1) Rent an entire rack with a 19" rackmount UPS, as well as locks connected to the server to signal if the rack has been opened, and motion sensors, as well as a compass 2) If either the power from outside goes down, or the lock/cage alarm triggers, or the…
And stick the security mesh to the entire enclosure's inner surface for good measure: http://www.central-midori.com.sg/products/security-foil
You can also avoid the UPS requirement by using an internal battery that just wipes the RAM (10KV discharge? Thermite charge? C4?) when case integrity is compromized or when a thermometer/barometer/accelerometer/gyro threshold is exceeded.