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.
401 questions
11 votes
2 answers
3k views
What are the preferred ways to exchange public keys physically?
Suppose I have the privilege to being able to physically meet a person that I want to communicate with beforehand. Suppose the person and I have minimal trust --- it could be the first time we get to ...
- 293
1 vote
1 answer
162 views
Since JTAG can be authenticated and encrypted, which key is used? I read that Secure Boot is used, but what is the key?
Since JTAG can be authenticated and encrypted, which key is used? I read that Secure Boot is used, but what is the key? Me, owner of this laptop, how can I know the key to use to access my own laptop ...
- 537
-1 votes
2 answers
338 views
Laptop Repair vs. Evil Maid
Suppose you need a laptop repair, so you bring it to A big box store where you have some sort of coverage (who will have the computer for 2-3 weeks) A small chain of repair shops a small independent ...
0 votes
0 answers
124 views
compatability of Desfire EV1/2 readers and cards with a Doorking access control system
I am getting the idea that Doorking's ProxPlus cards and reader have a pre-defined encryption key in their reader. As these readers are wiegand devices and the software for the Doorking Access systems ...
0 votes
2 answers
284 views
Mitigating vulnerabilities in audio libraries that cause physical damage
As I pointed out here in February 2022, people who gained brief direct or remote access to a machine can change the volume step or other things regarding sudden large changes to the sound volume (for ...
- 393
18 votes
3 answers
12k views
Can fingerprint readers be trusted?
I've recently obtained a new notebook, specifically a Thinkpad. Now I found out that it has a fingerprint reader integrated into the power button. I am skeptical about biometrics as a security ...
- 291
1 vote
1 answer
539 views
Rowhammer mitigations in current hardware and software
I've been looking into rowhammer attacks and mitigations and there are two (what seem to be) mitigations that I've seen that are actually implemented in currently available hardware and software, but ...
- 11
0 votes
3 answers
705 views
What can an attacker do with physical access to a Linux server?
I have physical access to a Linux computer (Ubuntu 20.04). My colleague asked me what an attacker could do if he had physical access to this computer? I would like to know if, by default (after a ...
54 votes
11 answers
12k views
Why did they stop adding physical "write protect" mechanism?
Floppy disks used to have a physical means of preventing writing to them. No software could bypass that, no matter what. It had to be flicked physically and manually by a human being. Modern SD cards ...
- 549
1 vote
1 answer
378 views
As a private individual, cleanly destroy a large number of paper documents. Are there alternatives to the consumer shredder?
I need to safely dispose of about 30 federal folders. That means 95% of the documents will be shredded and the rest stored. I bought a small shredder for private people (professional shredders are too ...
- 1,501
2 votes
2 answers
368 views
What is the name of the box that hackers connect to a router in order to spy on all your traffic?
I watched a documentary where hackers entered a victim's house by pretending to be from the ISP and then connected a box to a router in order to spy on all of the victim's traffic. Later, the hackers ...
- 23
0 votes
1 answer
176 views
What type of attacks can be carried against an OS with FDE, if we assume OS and FDE are implemented correctly?
The question is mainly stated in the title. I was wondering what kind of attacks can be launched on such a setup, where someone has access to a running OS with locked screen (needs password for the ...
- 101
3 votes
0 answers
286 views
Does Windows 10 read/run/care about USB devices plugged in "Lock Screen" mode?
Whenever I leave my computer for the bathroom or anything inside the living space, I press WinKey + L to enter the "Lock Screen" mode. (If I go outside, I turn it off completely.) Let's say ...
- 31
4 votes
1 answer
788 views
Detecting BIOS changes on PC
I've seen this question: Is it possible to determine if the BIOS has been modified between two points in time? On my Linux PC, I've made a script that checks the MD5 hash of the boot partition to ...
- 41
2 votes
0 answers
243 views
Allow the use of camera phones in the manufacturing facilities; but then how do I maintain the security of the premises
What are the best practices to be followed to maintain security in the manufacturing site where camera phones are allowed? I'm working on one of the largest manufacturing facility where few of the R&...
