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#1 (permalink) |
Wise-ass Latino
Location: Pretoria (Tshwane), RSA
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New Method of data theft discovered
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/22/te...22chip.html?hp
Princeton researchers have discovered a new way to compromise the encryption on hard drives: Freeze the RAM chips. Although it's widely assumed that the information in dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips is erased as soon as a computer is shut down, researchers have discovered that these chips can retain their info anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes. A blast of cold air, such as what is available in cans of compressed air used to clean keyboards allows these chips to retain their memory even longer. Princeton researcher Edward Felton: “Cool the chips in liquid nitrogen (-196 °C) and they hold their state for hours at least, without any power. Just put the chips back into a machine and you can read out their contents.” Once the memory is retained, these chips can be installed into computers that use pattern recognition software to identify the encryption keys and break the encryption of a hard drive. Princeton's method of decryption was successfully demonstrated on computers that used Microsoft Windows, Macintos OS, Linux operating systems. All kinds of secret squirrel stuff is out there.
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Cameron originally envisioned the Terminator as a small, unremarkable man, giving it the ability to blend in more easily. As a result, his first choice for the part was Lance Henriksen. O. J. Simpson was on the shortlist but Cameron did not think that such a nice guy could be a ruthless killer. -From the Collector's Edition DVD of The Terminator |
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#2 (permalink) | |
Tilted Cat Head
Administrator
Location: Manhattan, NY
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Quote:
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I don't care if you are black, white, purple, green, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, hippie, cop, bum, admin, user, English, Irish, French, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, indian, cowboy, tall, short, fat, skinny, emo, punk, mod, rocker, straight, gay, lesbian, jock, nerd, geek, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist, either you're an asshole or you're not. |
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#3 (permalink) |
Junkie
Location: France
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Pretty cool, although one would have to go through a fairly difficult process to get that data.
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Check it out: The Open Source/Freeware/Gratis Software Thread |
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#4 (permalink) | |
Tilted Cat Head
Administrator
Location: Manhattan, NY
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Quote:
__________________
I don't care if you are black, white, purple, green, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, hippie, cop, bum, admin, user, English, Irish, French, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, indian, cowboy, tall, short, fat, skinny, emo, punk, mod, rocker, straight, gay, lesbian, jock, nerd, geek, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist, either you're an asshole or you're not. |
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#7 (permalink) |
Darth Papa
Location: Yonder
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So it becomes an issue of physical security, then? I've got to have my machine locked down enough that there's not somebody in there hosing the RAM down with liquid nitrogen and then digging into frozen memory after I leave the room?
This is a very interesting thing in the abstract, but I'm having a hard time seeing the real-world security relevance. |
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Tags |
data, discovered, method, theft |
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