FragAttacks: new security vulnerabilities that affect wi-fi devices

Re:FragAttacks: new security vulnerabilities that affect wi-... by quickthrowman on Tuesday May 11, 2021 @06:17PM (#27124293)

Yeah, this tech standard is totally insane, why would I want anyone or anything to be able to scan people and objects inside my house without my knowledge? I’m aware of microphone attacks for keyboard password entry and other methods of surreptitious surveillance, but this is way past a microphone or webcam. I will pay a massive premium to purchase WiFi equipment without this feature.

Unfortunately these will be everywhere, far beyond any existing camera surveillance network.

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Re:FragAttacks: new security vulnerabilities that affect wi-... by transpute on Tuesday May 11, 2021 @06:59PM (#27124691)

It's also passive. Someone could stand outside your house or factory with their device and "illuminate" activity inside the building. Only EMF shielding in/on the walls could block them. Nation-state regulators could get involved, since these devices would be using spectrum that belongs to the public.

2012 article on a military use case, https://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2012-07/seeing-thr...

2017 video on an industrial use case, https://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/wi-fi-radiation-tran...

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Re:FragAttacks: new security vulnerabilities that affect wi-... by rapjr9 on Tuesday May 11, 2021 @11:46PM (#27126366)

This is very similar to radar, which raises the question, is radar already used to spy on peoples movements through walls?

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Re:FragAttacks: new security vulnerabilities that affect wi-... by ancientworldnow on Wednesday May 12, 2021 @12:22AM (#27126557)

X-Ray backscatter is definitely used for this, most famously by secret NYPD vans.

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/10/the-nyp...

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Re:FragAttacks: new security vulnerabilities that affect wi-... by transpute on Wednesday May 12, 2021 @12:30AM (#27126597)

> The radars work like finely tuned motion detectors, using radio waves to zero in on movements as slight as human breathing from a distance of more than 50 feet. They can detect whether anyone is inside of a house, where they are and whether they are moving.

The cost of those devices should fall with 802.11bf Wi-Fi.

> the vans deliver a radiation dose 40 percent larger than delivered by a backscatter airport scanner; bystanders present when the van is in use are exposed to the radiation that the van emits… there may be significant health risks associated with the use of backscatter x-ray devices as these machines use ionizing radiation, a type of radiation long known to mutate DNA and cause cancer.

Could this radiation meter detect the presence of such a van?

https://www.gqelectronicsllc.com/comersus/store/comersus_vie...

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