Bulletin Board # 47
Don't get worried because you just received #44 and now you are getting # 47; I didn't save the info on # 44.....I think it was the one with all the jokes. But if it contained something of interest, send it back and I post it as # 48 or # 49. :>)
Tim
From: Radome1494
Date: Fri, 2 Jan 1998 09:14:19 EST
To: dbugman@dbugman.com (Tim Johnson)
Subject: Some additional Dialog regarding Computers and Aircraft, FYI
Organization: AOL (http://www.aol.com)
As a former Security Officer for a main European Airline compagny (I'm also
professionnal aircraft pilot), I can attest that the use on-board new
generation aircrafts of any electro-magnetic devices like laptop computer,
cellular phone, cd players, or even game-boy are dangerous and should be
notify to the cabin crew.
Electro-magnetics wave emitting by the laser of cd-players or computers can
cause severe interference to the flight instruments.
Few years ago, pilots as reported several problems. One incident happened
in cruise flight on an transatlantic flight with a MD-11.
The pilots reported the total losses of all informations on their EFIS
tubes (Flight Instrument). Fortunately, the MD-11 is a conventionnal
(hydro-mechanic command) aircraft and the pilots was in cruise flight and
not in approach.
After a few minutes, the pilots find the interferences was caused by a
passeger who was listening some music with his CD-player.
As well you can destroy the whole of your data on your hard drive,but you
can cause also the crash of the plane.
For information, almost of European Airline Compagnies prohibit use of this
items during the flight. New generation of Airbus (319-320-321-330-340) due
to their fly-by-wire systems are specialy sensitive to electro-magnetic
wave.
If you are affraid to loose any data on your computer, simple don't use it
and just enjoy the flight !
Sometimes paper is the best !
Out of professional curiousity (I'm a private pilot and fly with the Arizona Wing of the Civil Air Patrol), what is your response when (if) someone asks if they can use their GPS while in flight, either tracking the flight or in the training mode. I've had some pilots who said no, some who said yes and some who (grinning) said they would have to confiscate it (along with the instruction manual) for the duration of trhe flight so they could do an evaluation of the Garmin GPS-90.
I use mine (in addition to the one on our Squadron 182) and we've never experienced any problems.
Fred, the following are in response to your inquiry.
From: "Mike Andrews"
Subject: Re: Bulletin board # 44
Hello Tim,
Some comments and hopefully, some helpful info.
Regards,
Mike Andrews
Fred wrote:
Allegedly he has simply placed a caller ID device on his phone (but NOT activated the service with the phone company)? If so, how does this occur,
Caller ID (CNID) is nothing more than a one-way digital transmission
that takes place between the 1st and 2nd ring of an incoming call.
Here are the specs:
Link 2-wire, simplex
Transmission Type: FSK
Logical 1 (mark) 1200 +/- 12 Hz
Logical 0 (space) 2200 +/- 22 Hz
Transmission Rate: 1200 bps
Note that it looks like a modem, acts like a modem and it is, in fact,
Bell 202 modem compatible. A V.23 compatible modem will allegedly
work with the correct timing sequence applied to the answer
circuit.
The catch with CNID is: if the service is activated (by anyone) then
the data transmission will always occur between the 1st and 2nd ring.
Therefore, if the "Mark" is suspicious enough, all they need do
is plug in a Caller ID box and see if it registers anything between
the 1st and 2nd ring.
> and what is the fix (if there is one)?
Most likely anything you do to defeat their caller ID unit
will also impact yours.
It should be possible to design/build a circuit to switch in a noise
generator while maintaining the integrety of your CNID unit. The downside
to this is that it would be easily sensed by those dime-store bug detectors
(or anything else that monitors line voltages).
Are there other risks of detection for DNR/pen register systems?
If the surveillance is conducted at the phone company CO and
properly applied then it is undetectable using anything except
HUMINT techniques or "hacking" the phone company. If they
"hack" the phone company then that's just one more charge to
add to the list.
It's a real question and I'm looking for a real answer.
Good Luck.
Tim Wrote:
getting the indication of a caller ID service being placed thereon.
At the central office, they can split the line, but if it is in series,
both caller ID's would register.
Exactly right!!
From: CPMACK1
Subject: Response: Re: Bulletin board # 44
Tim,
In almost all instances a DNR/Pen Register is run by the phone company
regardless of whether you have caller ID. This is the means by which the
Phone company bills for ALL calls made. All calls are registered to determine
costs.
Best way to get a DNR/PR is to get a warrant. The owner of the phone IS NOT
Notificed and you get all calls made to and from and if you phrase the request
properly you get additional numbers dialed for forwarded calls, beepers, etc.
The DNR/PR obtained is usually in a compatable format that most of the
Telephone Tolls Automated Analysis Programs can import. I use the ORION Sci
"WinLEADS" PHONETOLLS program and have little or no problem in doing full
indepth analysis from products received "ON DISKS" from the phone companies.
Mac
From: steve.barrett@hq.doe.gov
Subject: GPS Jamming
FYI.
Usto Schulz RE: recent JPALS study, I recently
read in Aerospace Daily (12-9) that "...Local Area Differential Global
Positioning System (LDGPS) is the most promising for fixed base,
tactical and special mission environments.
AD (12-17) contains an article describing a GPS
jammer that works on four freqs, four watts. Apparently a Russian firm is marketing such a device advertised to suppress normal functioning of GPS and Glonass receivers within several hundred km. The jammer is reported to be small, light & cheap. What views would anyone care to express regarding the potential growing availability of inexpensive
countermeasures to GPS specifically and other space based services in
general?
Another annecdote: SATCOM. As noted in Aug AF
Mag, comments attributed to Gen Estes indicated that Indonesia is
jamming a Hong Kong emplaced satellite that Indonesia feels has been
wrongfully put into its own geo "slot", demonstrating that such forms of
space warfare are already being practiced.
From: steve.barrett@hq.doe.gov
Subject: Tracking of Swiss mobile phone users starts row
Forwarded FYI.
TITLE: Tracking of Swiss mobile phone users starts row
DATE: 19971228
TEXT: ZURICH (December 28, 1997 4:12 p.m. EST) -
Swiss police have secretly tracked the whereabouts of mobile phone users
via a telephone company computer that records billions of movements
going back more than half a year, a Sunday newspaper reported.
The revelation in the SonntagsZeitung newspaper
triggered objections from politicians and the country's privacy
ombudsman about high-tech snooping on citizens who like the convenience
of a mobile phone.
Officials from state telephone company Swisscom
confirmed the practice, but insisted information about mobile customers
was only handed out on court orders.
"Swisscom has stored data on the movements of
more than a million mobile phone users. It can call up the location of
all its mobile subscribers down to a few hundred meters and going back
at least half a year," the paper reported.
"When it has to, it can exactly reconstruct down
to the minute who met whom, where and for how long for a confidential
tete-a-tete," it said.
Some 3,000 base stations across the country
track the location of mobile phones as soon as they are switched on, not
just when customers are having conversations, it said.
Prosecutors called the records a wealth of
information that helped track criminals' movements.
"This is a very efficient investigation tool,"
Renato Walti, an investigating magistrate in Zurich who specialises in
organised crime, was quoted as telling the paper.
The paper said Swisscom and law-enforcement
officials were reluctant to discuss the records, which were supposed to
be secret.
But it quoted Toni Stadelmann, head of
Swisscom's mobile phone division, as saying: "We release the movement
profile of mobile telephone customers on a judge's order."
SonntagsZeitung said there was no legal basis
for storing such information.
"I am unaware of any law that would allow the
preventative collection of data for investigative purposes," it quoted
Odilo Guntern, the federal ombudsman for protecting individuals'
privacy, as saying.
"Secretly collecting data is highly
problematic," added Alexander Tschaeppat, a judge and member of the
lower house of parliament.
Well, that does it for now. If you have any comments or input that would be useful to the others, pass it on.
Tim Johnson