belgareth
10-07-2005, 08:31 AM
I am pretty sceptical of the following article but decided to let you make up
your own minds. My reason for my sceptisism is that I handle new laptops often as an authorized dealer and warranty
service station for several brands. This morning I even took the time to open a brand new machine in my stock to
check for such a device. There wasn't one. Other computer dealers in the area have said nothing to me about it
either and there has been nothing in any trade publication. I would expect something
somewhere.
Belgareth
Sunday, October 2, 2005 10:00
PM EDT
GOVERNMENT AND COMPUTER MANUFACTURERS CAUGHT
INSTALLING HARD-WIRED KEYSTROKE LOGGERS INTO ALL NEW LAPTOP COMPUTERS!
Devices capture everything you ever type, then can send it via your ethernet card to the Dept. of
Homeland Security without your knowledge, consent or a search warrant each time you log onto the
Internet!
Freedom Of Information Act Requests For Explanation
From DHS, refused.
I was opening up my almost brand new
laptop, to replace a broken PCMCIA slot riser on the motherboard. As soon as I got the keyboard off, I noticed a
small cable running from the keyboard connection underneath a piece of metal protecting the
motherboard.
I figured "No Big Deal", and continued with the
dissasembly. But when I got the metal panels off, I saw a small white heatshink-wrapped package. Being ever-curious,
I sliced the heatshrink open. I found a little circuit board inside.
Being an EE (Electronic Engineer) by trade, this piqued my curiosity considerably. On one side of the
board, one Atmel AT45D041A four megabit Flash memory chip.
On the
other side, one Microchip Technology PIC16F876 Programmable Interrupt Controller, along with a little Fairchild
Semiconductor CD4066BCM quad bilateral switch.
Looking further, I saw
that the other end of the cable was connected to the integrated ethernet board.
What could this mean? I called the manufacturer's tech support about it, and they said, and I quote,
"The intregrated service tag identifier is there for assisting customers in the event of lost or misplaced personal
information." He then hung up.
A little more research, and I found
that that board spliced in between the keyboard and the ethernet chip is little more than a Keyghost hardware
keylogger.
The reasons a computer manufacturer would put this in their
laptops can only be left up to your imagination. It would be very impractical to hand-anylze the logs, and very
CPU-intensive to do so on a computer for every person that purchased a laptop. Why are these keyloggers here? I
recently almost found out.
I called the police, as having a keylogger
unknown to me in my laptop is a serious offense. They told me to call the Department of Homeland Security. At this
point, I am in disbelief. Why would the DHS have a keylogger in my laptop? It was surreal.
So I called them, and they told me to submit a Freedom of Information Act request.
This is what I got back:
Under the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA)
the only items exempt from public disclosure are items relating to "law enforcement tools and techniques" and "items
relating to national security."
The real life implications of this are
plain: Computer manufacturers appear to be cooperating with the Department of Homeland Security to make every person
who buys a new computer subject to immediate, unrestricted government recording of everything they do on those
computers! EVERYTHING!
This information can be sent to DHS, online,
without your knowledge or consent, without a search warrant or even probable cause! That's why this device is
hard-wired directly into the ethernet card, which communicates over the internet!
I am not certain how long this information will be permitted to remain online for all the world to see
before the government takes some type of action to attempt to have it removed from public view. I URGE you to take
copy of this page immediately and spread this information to everyone you know immediately! The more people who find
out about this, the more can protect themselves and raise a HUGE outcry to force government and computer
manufacturers to immediately CEASE installing these devices in new computers!
your own minds. My reason for my sceptisism is that I handle new laptops often as an authorized dealer and warranty
service station for several brands. This morning I even took the time to open a brand new machine in my stock to
check for such a device. There wasn't one. Other computer dealers in the area have said nothing to me about it
either and there has been nothing in any trade publication. I would expect something
somewhere.
Belgareth
Sunday, October 2, 2005 10:00
PM EDT
GOVERNMENT AND COMPUTER MANUFACTURERS CAUGHT
INSTALLING HARD-WIRED KEYSTROKE LOGGERS INTO ALL NEW LAPTOP COMPUTERS!
Devices capture everything you ever type, then can send it via your ethernet card to the Dept. of
Homeland Security without your knowledge, consent or a search warrant each time you log onto the
Internet!
Freedom Of Information Act Requests For Explanation
From DHS, refused.
I was opening up my almost brand new
laptop, to replace a broken PCMCIA slot riser on the motherboard. As soon as I got the keyboard off, I noticed a
small cable running from the keyboard connection underneath a piece of metal protecting the
motherboard.
I figured "No Big Deal", and continued with the
dissasembly. But when I got the metal panels off, I saw a small white heatshink-wrapped package. Being ever-curious,
I sliced the heatshrink open. I found a little circuit board inside.
Being an EE (Electronic Engineer) by trade, this piqued my curiosity considerably. On one side of the
board, one Atmel AT45D041A four megabit Flash memory chip.
On the
other side, one Microchip Technology PIC16F876 Programmable Interrupt Controller, along with a little Fairchild
Semiconductor CD4066BCM quad bilateral switch.
Looking further, I saw
that the other end of the cable was connected to the integrated ethernet board.
What could this mean? I called the manufacturer's tech support about it, and they said, and I quote,
"The intregrated service tag identifier is there for assisting customers in the event of lost or misplaced personal
information." He then hung up.
A little more research, and I found
that that board spliced in between the keyboard and the ethernet chip is little more than a Keyghost hardware
keylogger.
The reasons a computer manufacturer would put this in their
laptops can only be left up to your imagination. It would be very impractical to hand-anylze the logs, and very
CPU-intensive to do so on a computer for every person that purchased a laptop. Why are these keyloggers here? I
recently almost found out.
I called the police, as having a keylogger
unknown to me in my laptop is a serious offense. They told me to call the Department of Homeland Security. At this
point, I am in disbelief. Why would the DHS have a keylogger in my laptop? It was surreal.
So I called them, and they told me to submit a Freedom of Information Act request.
This is what I got back:
Under the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA)
the only items exempt from public disclosure are items relating to "law enforcement tools and techniques" and "items
relating to national security."
The real life implications of this are
plain: Computer manufacturers appear to be cooperating with the Department of Homeland Security to make every person
who buys a new computer subject to immediate, unrestricted government recording of everything they do on those
computers! EVERYTHING!
This information can be sent to DHS, online,
without your knowledge or consent, without a search warrant or even probable cause! That's why this device is
hard-wired directly into the ethernet card, which communicates over the internet!
I am not certain how long this information will be permitted to remain online for all the world to see
before the government takes some type of action to attempt to have it removed from public view. I URGE you to take
copy of this page immediately and spread this information to everyone you know immediately! The more people who find
out about this, the more can protect themselves and raise a HUGE outcry to force government and computer
manufacturers to immediately CEASE installing these devices in new computers!