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Many buildings house classified or confidential documents. Many of these documents are accesed by computer. Many of these computers are visible through various windows in the building. The screens will often show up through even tint or mirroring, simply because they are brighter than the outside
environment.
Problem:
A dedicated espionage agent (corporate or national) could find someplace to observe these computers and photograph the screens.
Solution:
Since most of the screens are LCD, and thus polarized anyway, simply tint the windows with a 90 degree polarization, such that the screens do not show out at all.
Anton Piller order
http://en.wikipedia.../Anton_Piller_order
[normzone, Nov 05 2009]
Van Eck phreaking
http://en.wikipedia...i/Van_Eck_phreaking
Monitors close to walls can be read from the other side. The required equipment for espionage was constructed in a university lab for less than 2000 US dollars. [normzone, Nov 05 2009]
Academic project on reflection capture, including eye
http://www.infsec.c...ojects/reflections/
"Capturing reflections from the eye is a much more challenging task due to the more extreme curvature of the eye, resulting in much smaller and less bright images. Additionally, the subconscious movement of the eye causes additional blurring. However, using more evolved equipment, in particular a more sensitive camera and a high-quality telescope, and additional post-processing, the following reflections can be captured." [jutta, Nov 05 2009]
http://xkcd.com/326/
[hippo, Nov 06 2009]
[link]
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A very neat solution to a problem that doesn't really exist. |
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[+] Neat. Do you know if all LCD polarization is the same ?
[wags] Tint and mirroring is a half solution if you've been in those kind of buildings. |
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// A very neat solution to a problem that doesn't really exist. // |
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... and therefore highly bunworthy. [+] |
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I have not been able to determine if LCD polarization is standard. I would assume it's at least standard with a manufacturer, so it should be possible to specify monitors that would work with a given window polarization. |
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If the shit on your screen is that sensitive then you're a dickhead for pointing the screen at the windows... seriously. Don't you know anything about counter-espionage? |
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[UB] That did occur to me, but it requires people to work in a certain orientation. This has the advantage of achieving the same thing and allowing layout flexibility. |
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(I also think high security buildings are built without windows for this reason, but this would mostly be for corporate proprietary information in any given office park or downtown high-rise.) |
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Hmmm. I know squat about counter espionage but it would seem to me that a screen shot might be able to be taken in the relfection of the users pupil or glasses from a powerful enough telescope.
How would polarizing the windows effect this inverted image? |
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It wouldn't effect them at all. It might affect them, which is pretty much the opposite thing. |
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We had a few problems with industrial espionage at a place I worked, a division of which specialised in patent and trademark work. |
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We found three bugged telephones, in one case that came to involve the anti-monopoly authorities. In another instance we found someone using a stolen access card to access confidential files after hours. That one resulted in a crew of Federal Police officers turning up at the office with an Anton Piller order few a whole slew of files. |
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In my role I had a fairly broad brief, including premises security. I made it company policy to face all monitors inwards, toward solid walls. I also enforced a strict password change policy, to ensure tiered access to info, to a database that was under 128-bit encryption (state of the art at the time). |
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Confidential interviews and meetings were always held in a room that had very good soundproofing... we had two forced incursions by TV crews during the time I worked there, both on sensitive political cases involving whistleblowers. |
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I found it amusing that an international armaments development firm next door had great security in public access areas but effectively none between my office wall and their boardroom. I used to listen to board meetings and international telephone conferences with foreign military and government figures (some whose names I recognised) on a daily basis. |
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// with foreign military and government figures // |
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What most people don't realise is that there's little point in security if you ARE "High authority". |
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Security is mostly about keeping stuff from regulatory authorities..... if you're not answerable to anyone, why worry ? |
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A reflected image should retain polarization. |
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//a screen shot might be able to be taken in the relfection of the users pupil // |
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I call bullshit. That's movie mumbo-jumbo, and I'll eat my hat if anyone ever does it in real life. |
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[terms of wager - using a telescope in one building to take a screenshot via pupil reflection from a person in an adjacent building, of what that person has displayed on their screen. Must be of text-reading resolution.] |
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I shall take a Nikon D3x with a 600mm f/4 please, maybe with a 2x teleconverter. Should provide me with a reasonable image, if not, there's always upscaling software out there that should produce a perfectly legible image.
What do you mean you aren't buying me the equipment? |
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Pupil doesn't seem likely, but glasses might be, door glass or
something similar probably is, if you're unfortunate enough
to be in just the wrong spot. |
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That is quite the tale UnaBubba. |
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I thought I had the whole affect/effect thing down pat; affect is a mannerism like speaking with a fake accent, and effect is everything else.
<heads to dictionary.com> |
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The effect of affectation is to affect the final effect, especially upon the object of your affection. |
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The company in question invented an electrically operated machine gun, capable of firing many thousands of rounds per minute. They were seeking buyers among the governments of traditionally allied nations. They were one of our subtenants. We subleased the remainder of the 36th floor of a landmark building to a major US oil exploration firm at the time. |
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The IP case was over the sale of intellectual property rights associated with a major amusement park development. |
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The political cases were to do with depositions by former staff members of federal politicians accused of falsifying electorate office expenditures. |
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There were also the usual gaggle of fruitcake matrimonial cases, including one client who murdered his wife, in-laws and three kids after spending the weekend with the kids. There was another whose ex-wife gassed herself and three children to death. He was none too stable, often arriving and accusing us of allowing it to happen because we didn't stop the Family Court judge from awarding joint custody. |
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Nor did I mention the white supremacist weirdo who staked our offices out from the lift lobby, in order to confront his wife every few weeks when she came to visit her lawyer. He loudly, and wrongly, accused his wife of secretly converting to Islam in order to punish him for harassing their teenaged children to ensure they dated only children with blonde hair and blue eyes. |
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I used to check he was in the lift lobby then smuggle the wife down one of the fire escapes and into a taxi, while our receptionist flirted with him to keep him from spotting her. |
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I'd be happy for polarising windows... my view of people became somewhat polarised, doing that work. |
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Once again, [UB] cleverly effects the correction of another's grammar (and while we're on the subject, see link). |
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Ah XKCD, is there a situation they don't have a comic for? |
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I'd like to think I'm a step or two above the rank of 'amateur grammar Nazi', when it all is said and done. |
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