A little more than 11 years ago, one of the creators of Tor, and -the current President of the Tor -project, Roger Dingledine, gave a talk for the members of the -Norwegian Unix User group (NUUG). A -video of the talk was recorded, and today, thanks to the great help -from David Noble, I finally was able to publish the video of the talk -on Frikanalen, the Norwegian open channel TV station where NUUG -currently publishes its talks. You can -watch the live stream using a web -browser with WebM support, or check out the recording on the video -on demand page for the talk -"Tor: Anonymous -communication for the US Department of Defence...and you.".
- -Here is the video included for those of you using browsers with -HTML video and Ogg Theora support:
- - - -I guess the gist of the talk can be summarised quite simply: If you -want to help the military in USA (and everyone else), use Tor. :)
+ +On friday, I came across an interesting article in the Norwegian +web based ICT news magazine digi.no on +how +to collect the IMSI numbers of nearby cell phones using the cheap +DVB-T software defined radios. The article refered to instructions +and a recipe by +Keld Norman on Youtube on how to make a simple $7 IMSI Catcher, and I decided to test them out.
+ +The instructions said to use Ubuntu, install pip using apt (to +bypass apt), use pip to install pybombs (to bypass both apt and pip), +and the ask pybombs to fetch and build everything you need from +scratch. I wanted to see if I could do the same on the most recent +Debian packages, but this did not work because pybombs tried to build +stuff that no longer build with the most recent openssl library or +some other version skew problem. While trying to get this recipe +working, I learned that the apt->pip->pybombs route was a long detour, +and the only piece of software dependency missing in Debian was the +gr-gsm package. I also found out that the lead upstream developer of +gr-gsm (the name stand for GNU Radio GSM) project already had a set of +Debian packages provided in an Ubuntu PPA repository. All I needed to +do was to dget the Debian source package and built it.
+ +The IMSI collector is a python script listening for packages on the +loopback network device and printing to the terminal some specific GSM +packages with IMSI numbers in them. The code is fairly short and easy +to understand. The reason this work is because gr-gsm include a tool +to read GSM data from a software defined radio like a DVB-T USB stick +and other software defined radios, decode them and inject them into a +network device on your Linux machine (using the loopback device by +default). This proved to work just fine, and I've been testing the +collector for a few days now.
+ +The updated and simpler recipe is thus to
+ +-
+
+
- start with a Debian machine running Stretch or newer, + +
- build and install the gr-gsm package available from +http://ppa.launchpad.net/ptrkrysik/gr-gsm/ubuntu/pool/main/g/gr-gsm/, + +
- clone the git repostory from https://github.com/Oros42/IMSI-catcher, + +
- run grgsm_livemon and adjust the frequency until the terminal +where it was started is filled with a stream of text (meaning you +found a GSM station). + +
- go into the IMSI-catcher directory and run 'sudo python simple_IMSI-catcher.py' to extract the IMSI numbers. + +
To make it even easier in the future to get this sniffer up and +running, I decided to package +the gr-gsm project +for Debian (WNPP +#871055), and the package was uploaded into the NEW queue today. +Luckily the gnuradio maintainer has promised to help me, as I do not +know much about gnuradio stuff yet.
+ +I doubt this "IMSI cacher" is anywhere near as powerfull as +commercial tools like +The +Spy Phone Portable IMSI / IMEI Catcher or the +Harris +Stingray, but I hope the existance of cheap alternatives can make +more people realise how their whereabouts when carrying a cell phone +is easily tracked. Seeing the data flow on the screen, realizing that +I live close to a police station and knowing that the police is also +wearing cell phones, I wonder how hard it would be for criminals to +track the position of the police officers to discover when there are +police near by, or for foreign military forces to track the location +of the Norwegian military forces, or for anyone to track the location +of government officials...
+ +It is worth noting that the data reported by the IMSI-catcher +script mentioned above is only a fraction of the data broadcasted on +the GSM network. It will only collect one frequency at the time, +while a typical phone will be using several frequencies, and not all +phones will be using the frequencies tracked by the grgsm_livemod +program. Also, there is a lot of radio chatter being ignored by the +simple_IMSI-catcher script, which would be collected by extending the +parser code. I wonder if gr-gsm can be set up to listen to more than +one frequency?
The isenkram -system is a user-focused solution in Debian for handling hardware -related packages. The idea is to have a database of mappings between -hardware and packages, and pop up a dialog suggesting for the user to -install the packages to use a given hardware dongle. Some use cases -are when you insert a Yubikey, it proposes to install the software -needed to control it; when you insert a braille reader list it -proposes to install the packages needed to send text to the reader; -and when you insert a ColorHug screen calibrator it suggests to -install the driver for it. The system work well, and even have a few -command line tools to install firmware packages and packages for the -hardware already in the machine (as opposed to hotpluggable hardware).
- -The system was initially written using aptdaemon, because I found -good documentation and example code on how to use it. But aptdaemon -is going away and is generally being replaced by -PackageKit, -so Isenkram needed a rewrite. And today, thanks to the great patch -from my college Sunil Mohan Adapa in the FreedomBox project, the -rewrite finally took place. I've just uploaded a new version of -Isenkram into Debian Unstable with the patch included, and the default -for the background daemon is now to use PackageKit. To check it out, -install the isenkram package and insert some hardware dongle -and see if it is recognised.
- -If you want to know what kind of packages isenkram would propose for -the machine it is running on, you can check out the isenkram-lookup -program. This is what it look like on a Thinkpad X230:
- -- --% isenkram-lookup -bluez -cheese -fprintd -fprintd-demo -gkrellm-thinkbat -hdapsd -libpam-fprintd -pidgin-blinklight -thinkfan -tleds -tp-smapi-dkms -tp-smapi-source -tpb -%p -
The hardware mappings come from several places. The preferred way -is for packages to announce their hardware support using -the -cross distribution appstream system. -See -previous -blog posts about isenkram to learn how to do that.
+ +I finally received a copy of the Norwegian Bokmål edition of +"The Debian Administrator's +Handbook". This test copy arrived in the mail a few days ago, and +I am very happy to hold the result in my hand. We spent around one and a half year translating it. This paperbook edition +is available +from lulu.com. If you buy it quickly, you save 25% on the list +price. The book is also available for download in electronic form as +PDF, EPUB and Mobipocket, as can be +read online +as a web page.
+ +This is the second book I publish (the first was the book +"Free Culture" by Lawrence Lessig +in +English, +French +and +Norwegian +Bokmål), and I am very excited to finally wrap up this +project. I hope +"Håndbok +for Debian-administratoren" will be well received.
Yesterday I updated the -battery-stats -package in Debian with a few patches sent to me by skilled and -enterprising users. There were some nice user and visible changes. -First of all, both desktop menu entries now work. A design flaw in -one of the script made the history graph fail to show up (its PNG was -dumped in ~/.xsession-errors) if no controlling TTY was available. -The script worked when called from the command line, but not when -called from the desktop menu. I changed this to look for a DISPLAY -variable or a TTY before deciding where to draw the graph, and now the -graph window pop up as expected.
- -The next new feature is a discharge rate estimator in one of the -graphs (the one showing the last few hours). New is also the user of -colours showing charging in blue and discharge in red. The percentages -of this graph is relative to last full charge, not battery design -capacity.
- -The other graph show the entire history of the collected battery -statistics, comparing it to the design capacity of the battery to -visualise how the battery life time get shorter over time. The red -line in this graph is what the previous graph considers 100 percent: - -
In this graph you can see that I only charge the battery to 80 -percent of last full capacity, and how the capacity of the battery is -shrinking. :(
- -The last new feature is in the collector, which now will handle -more hardware models. On some hardware, Linux power supply -information is stored in /sys/class/power_supply/ACAD/, while the -collector previously only looked in /sys/class/power_supply/AC/. Now -both are checked to figure if there is power connected to the -machine.
- -If you are interested in how your laptop battery is doing, please -check out the -battery-stats -in Debian unstable, or rebuild it on Jessie to get it working on -Debian stable. :) The upstream source is available from github. -Patches are very welcome.
- -As usual, if you use Bitcoin and want to show your support of my -activities, please send Bitcoin donations to my address -15oWEoG9dUPovwmUL9KWAnYRtNJEkP1u1b.
+ +Jeg kom over teksten +«Killing +car privacy by federal mandate» av Leonid Reyzin på Freedom to +Tinker i dag, og det gleder meg å se en god gjennomgang om hvorfor det +er et urimelig inngrep i privatsfæren å la alle biler kringkaste sin +posisjon og bevegelse via radio. Det omtalte forslaget basert på +Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC) kalles Basic Safety Message +(BSM) i USA og Cooperative Awareness Message (CAM) i Europa, og det +norske Vegvesenet er en av de som ser ut til å kunne tenke seg å +pålegge alle biler å fjerne nok en bit av innbyggernes privatsfære. +Anbefaler alle å lese det som står der. + +
Mens jeg tittet litt på DSRC på biler i Norge kom jeg over et sitat +jeg synes er illustrativt for hvordan det offentlige Norge håndterer +problemstillinger rundt innbyggernes privatsfære i SINTEF-rapporten +«Informasjonssikkerhet +i AutoPASS-brikker» av Trond Foss:
+ ++«Rapporten ser ikke på informasjonssikkerhet knyttet til personlig + integritet.» ++ +
SÃ¥ enkelt kan det tydeligvis gjøres nÃ¥r en vurderer +informasjonssikkerheten. Det holder vel at folkene pÃ¥ toppen kan si +at «Personvernet er ivaretatt», som jo er den populære intetsigende +frasen som gjør at mange tror enkeltindividers integritet tas vare pÃ¥. +Sitatet fikk meg til Ã¥ undres pÃ¥ hvor ofte samme tilnærming, Ã¥ bare se +bort fra behovet for personlig itegritet, blir valgt nÃ¥r en velger Ã¥ +legge til rette for nok et inngrep i privatsfæren til personer i +Norge. Det er jo sjelden det fÃ¥r reaksjoner. Historien om +reaksjonene pÃ¥ Helse Sør-Ãsts tjenesteutsetting er jo sørgelig nok et +unntak og toppen av isfjellet, desverre. Tror jeg fortsatt takker nei +til bÃ¥de AutoPASS og holder meg sÃ¥ langt unna det norske helsevesenet +som jeg kan, inntil de har demonstrert og dokumentert at de verdsetter +individets privatsfære og personlige integritet høyere enn kortsiktig +gevist og samfunnsnytte.
A few weeks ago the French paperback edition of Lawrence Lessigs -2004 book Cultura Libre was published. Today I noticed that the book -is now available from book stores. You can now buy it from -Amazon -($19.99), -Barnes -& Noble ($?) and as always from -Lulu.com -($19.99). The revenue is donated to the Creative Commons project. If -you buy from Lulu.com, they currently get $10.59, while if you buy -from one of the book stores most of the revenue go to the book store -and the Creative Commons project get much (not sure how much -less).
- -I was a bit surprised to discover that there is a kindle edition -sold by Amazon Digital Services LLC on Amazon. Not quite sure how -that edition was created, but if you want to download a electronic -edition (PDF, EPUB, Mobi) generated from the same files used to create -the paperback edition, they are -available -from github.
+ +It is pleasing to see that the work we put down in publishing new +editions of the classic Free +Culture book by the founder of the Creative Commons movement, +Lawrence Lessig, is still being appreciated. I had a look at the +latest sales numbers for the paper edition today. Not too impressive, +but happy to see some buyers still exist. All the revenue from the +books is sent to the Creative +Commons Corporation, and they receive the largest cut if you buy +directly from Lulu. Most books are sold via Amazon, with Ingram +second and only a small fraction directly from Lulu. The ebook +edition is available for free from +Github.
+ +Title / language | Quantity | ||
---|---|---|---|
2016 jan-jun | 2016 jul-dec | 2017 jan-may | |
Culture Libre / French | +3 | +6 | +15 | +
Fri kultur / Norwegian | +7 | +1 | +0 | +
Free Culture / English | +14 | +27 | +16 | +
Total | +24 | +34 | +31 | +
A bit sad to see the low sales number on the Norwegian edition, and +a bit surprising the English edition still selling so well.
+ +If you would like to translate and publish the book in your native +language, I would be happy to help make it happen. Please get in +touch.