I'm Building a Secure USB Drive That Hides Itself

I'm Building a Secure USB Drive That Hides Itself(rootkitlabs.com)

1 points by machinehum 14 days ago | 3 comments

jqpabc123 14 days ago |

I use a different approach --- data hidden in plain site.

I have a generic micro-SD memory card filled with innocuous looking files --- lots of photos and music.

Some of these files have encrypted data embedded in them. An attacker needs to figure out which ones. But even if he does so, the encryption and storage still needs to be broken.

This is a purely software solution --- no custom hardware required. But I do use a little watch strap holder to make it easy is to carry the data with me at all times.

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6784665

ggm 14 days ago |

Needs a self destruct option.

rekabis 14 days ago | |

Right. Preferably in the password system, so that other actors could cause the drive to self-destruct for you.

Something with an innocent-looking trigger, like the password with one character being a confusable, especially in most fonts. Such as a capital O where one actually expects it, whereas the real password has a zero in that spot. Or, if you memorize the Unicode methods for all three platforms, you use a Unicode confusable in the real password that looks like an ASCII character that someone would use in the trigger password.

That way, if you are “convinced” to hand over the password (https://xkcd.com/538/), you can write it out and let the other person trip the self-destruct on their own.

Back when jailbreaking iOS was really popular, there was even a jailbreak app that did exactly this to the entire phone - put in the wrong unlock code, and the phone rebooted and wiped itself. Great for people who worked against fascist governments.