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ORWL – The first open source, physically secure computer

crowdsupply.com

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Re: ORWL – The first open source, physically secure computer

#4
I scowled when I read about the Intel chip, and I stopped reading when they mentioned USB. Assuming for a moment that there's no hidden backdoor in the Intel chip (which seems exceedingly unlikely from all that I've read regarding IME, not to mention the un-auditable microcode), all this fancy hackery is still going to get pwned by BadUSB.

Secure computing cannot and will not move forward until we have a way to mitigate against this.

Re: ORWL – The first open source, physically secure computer

#5
Having some physical security in a OSS-hacker-compliant form factor is really quite nice. This is not going to replace a proper HSM, and almost certainly is a less secure place to store your data than an iPhone; but it's a good start for those unwilling to give up on (the performance of) PCs.

It's worth noting that QubesOS, which is supported by this system, protects against e.g. USB-based attacks by running a virtualized Linux for just the USB port (simplified.) This has its limitations, but should be pretty decent.

If at all possible, try to ensure that this device is powered down when an attacker gets it. Several attacks are easier if that's not the case (e.g. USB-based attacks, but also cold boot attacks on the encrypted disk - the security monitoring should trigger when one opens the case, but if an attacker can still extract your disk password from RAM before the RAM fades you're in trouble...)

Re: ORWL – The first open source, physically secure computer

#7
post #6

> If someone has physical access to your computer with secure documents present, it’s game over! Err, why? Is AES encryption not sufficient? And the key is secure in my head - not something someone could steal. So, why is this even a thing?

Unless you also want to perform the AES operations in your head, you have to rely on the hardware and software of your computer to perform them. An attacker could then replace the AES routine you use with one that stores a shadow copy of your key, or exfiltrates it over some covert channel.

Re: ORWL – The first open source, physically secure computer

#9

Not sure why the ubuntu.com is linked instead of the crowd supply link which has all the information including the ability to purchase one. See https://www.crowdsupply.com/design-shift/orwl

Thanks, we updated the link from https://insights.ubuntu.com/2016/09/29/meet-orwl-the-first-o....

Re: ORWL – The first open source, physically secure computer

#10
"When tampering is detected, ORWL immediately and irrevocably erases all your data"

IMHO that is beyond stupid, it's criminally irresponsible.

Well, to be fair, perhaps there are some uses cases, just not many. I'd rather go with tamper-proof seals instead.

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