Sheet could shelter Wi-Fi from eavesdroppers

Wireless hackers in the United Kingdom could soon face a new obstacle to stealing information.

The British government has endorsed a transparent film that can block Wi-Fi transmissions and other wireless signals from traveling through windows.

The film, called SpyGuard, can be laminated or fitted inside windows to prevent remote eavesdroppers from penetrating rooms with infrared or Wi-Fi signals to steal information or access private networks.

To stop Wi-Fi signals "leaking" from a room, the walls are also covered with a layer of paint that contains the same metals as the SpyGuard film. The film can even prevent hackers from stealing information from the light flicker emitted from computer monitors and reflected on a window, claims GlassLock UK, a company that sells the film in Britain.

"The film is developed by the U.S. National Security Agency," said John Hall, managing director of GlassLock UK. "The only way you can get hold of it here is through us."

CESG (Communications-Electronics Security Group), the information assurance arm of the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters, has backed the product, but the intelligence community is keeping an eye on who buys it.

"We have to get permission to sell it," said Hall. "We have to tell MI5 who we sell it to. It's no problem unless they're known terrorists."

GlassLock is demonstrating the product at Infosecurity Europe 2005 in London. The exhibition ends Thursday.

Dan Ilett of ZDNet UK reported from London.

[choard]

good thinking.

Let's see. I guess no one in the federal government ever heard of 9/11, where we got most of our best info on what was going on in airplanes from people with cell phones. So now, for terrorists to take over a government building and hold employees hostage, all they have to do is find a building with this stuff coating the windows, and place a shaped charge at the nearby telephone vault, wiping out phone, VoIP, and all data transmissions going out. And no one can use a cell phone to call for help either, with this crap on the walls and windows.

The last thing we need these days is single source anything. Diversity and redundency are the key backup plans for maintaining the walled garden.

Jeez, people, what the heck is wrong with passwords and biometric scans?

[taphilo]

Farraday Cage

What they have done is nothing more than build a Farraday cage - copper (or other) signal gathering wire mesh which is then grounded. This setup blocks all radio signals. These cages have been used for calibrating navigation equipment for 7+ decades.

Modern spy agency buildings build this feature into the walls (or should have) so that no signals came go in or out (and Embassies). Now the film covers up the windows from leaking radio waves.

Soon I bet all commercial buildings will do this too.

Time to invest in copper mines . . .

Tom Philo
http://www.taphilo.com