articles/6_Privacy_and-Security_Gadgets.md
A curated list of (DIY and pre-built) devices, to help preserve privacy and improve physical cyber security 🔐
Too long? 🦒 See the TLDR version instead.
See Also, The Hackers Hardware Toolkit by @yadox666- Ultimate guide of gadgets for Red Team pentesters and security researchers
Note: This section is intended just to be a bit of fun, it is entirely possible to stay secure and anonymous, without having to build or buy anything. Now that more devices have been added, it's not been possible to test everything here, so these products should not be taken as recommendations, just interesting ideas, and a bit of fun
(All products in this section have been tested.)
| Item | Description |
|---|---|
| USB Data Blocker | |
| There are many exploits that allow an attacker to infect your device with malware and/ or steal data, when you plug it in to what appears to be a USB power outlet. If you are charging your phone while travelling, a USB data blocker will prevent anything other than power from getting to your device, by removing the connection between the 2 data wires. The PortaPower brand, also comes with a fast charging chip, since without the data connection your device would otherwise charge at minimum speed | |
| Microphone Blocker | |
| A microphone blocker is a device that prohibits audio hacking, in the form of a hardware accessory for a smartphones, laptops etc. It functions as a dummy mic jack, so the device thinks it has a microphone plugged in, and hence disables the internal one | |
| Faraday Pouch | |
| Faraday Shield is an enclosure that blocks electromagnetic fields. It is useful to keep any device which could be hacked through sending or receiving signals in such a case, such as car keys, or a smart phone. Larger versions are availible for tablets and latops. | |
| RFID Blocking Cards | |
| If you are concerned about card skimming, you can use an RFID blocking sleeve to protect your contactless payment and identity cards. However there are proportionately very few RFID-skimmer crimes reported, and most credit cards have a low contactless limit | |
| Web Cam Covers | |
| Web cam covers are quite self-explanatory, they physically conceal the lenses on your laptop or phone camera, to prevent a malicious actor (hacker, government, corporation etc) from watching you through the camera. It may sound paranoid, but unfortunately it happens, and it is a relatively simple process for someone to gain remote access to a webcam. Even Mark Zuckerberg covers his webcam! Of course you could just use some tape, rather than buying a cover | |
| Prokey Wallet | |
| Prokey Optimum is a secure, easy-to-use offline hardware wallet, that works directly through the browser (on Windows, Mac, Linux and Android), without the need for installing any apps. Both the firmware and browser app is open source, and it natively supports over 1000 coins and tokens. It's affordably priced at £42/ $59, with free world-wide shipping and customer support | |
| Port Blockers | |
| There are many attacks that involve an attacker inserting a USB device (such as a BadUSB/ Rubber Ducky/ Malduino) to an open USB port. Adding a port blocker doesn't render you safe from this, since the attacker could take the time to try and remove it, but it could protect you for an opportunistic attack | |
| Privacy Filter | |
| Privacy filters are polarized sheets of plastic, that when placed over a computer screen prevent screen visibility from any angle other than straight on. They make it harder for anyone to look over your shoulder and see your data confidential | |
| YubiKey | |
| The YubiKey is a small hardware device used to secure access on mobile devices, computers, and servers to all of your online accounts. It allows for second-factor authentication, hence protecting anyone other than you from logging in. It is said to be more convenient and more secure than using a mobile authenticator, but there are reasons for and against | |
| Encrypted Kingston Data Traveler | |
| Good value, easy-to-use with no installation required. Built-in hardware encryption and high password protection. Also optionally allows for automatic cloud backup option to protect against data loss (which doesn't say much about their faith in this USB device, but jokes aside-) this is a very affordable and well rated little device | |
| Hardware Encrypted USB 3.0 Drive | |
| OS & Platform independent, with 100% hardware encryption, so it works perfectly with all operating systems. USB 3.0 with Read/Write Speeds of 116/43 MBps. GDPR complient and FIPS 140-2 Level 3, NLNCSA DEP-V & NATO Restricted Level Certified with real time military grade AES-XTS 256-bit hardware encryption | |
| Hardware Encrypted External Hard Drive | |
| Similar to the iStorage hardware encrypted USB 3.1 drive, this external hard drive has high capacity and strong hardware encryption. Data is encrypted with FIPS PUB 197 Validated Encryption Algorithm, and against a 7 - 15 digit alpha-numeric pin, with erasing capabilities for multiple failed login attempts | |
| Fingbox - Home Network Monitoring | |
| Fing Box is an optional companion to the Fing App. It provides network monitoring and security capabilities, to protect your home/ work network. As well as the functionality of the app, the FingBox allows you to block intruders and notify you about unknown devices as well as analyse your network for vulnerabilities, such as open ports. You can also see which devises are near your home at what time (even if they're not connected to your WiFi), and improve network speed with scheduled analysis and bandwidth allocation. Best to try out the Fing app alone, before buying the FindBox, but both are great products for netowrk monitoring and security | |
| Bootable Drive Eraser | |
| Easy-to-use bootable USB will completely erase your hard drive with military grade destruction, making it near-impossible for any files or personal data to be recovered. This should be done before you sell, or dispose of any hard drive. Of course there are various .ISOs you can download and flash to a USB yourself if you do not want to spend money, but this USB supports all devices and is quick and easy to use, with excellent results | |
| Mobile Privacy Screen | |
| Similar to the laptop/ monitor privacy filter, this screen protector will prevent anyone from seeing what is on your screen when reading from an angle | |
| Kensington Lock | |
| Quite self-explanatory, this lock will make it harder for someone to steal your laptop, and get to your data. Of course it does require that your laptop has the Kensington Security Slot, which many do | |
| Anti-Surveillance Clothing | |
| Facial recognition is being rolled out in most countries now, the patterns on these clothes, will confuse facial, object and number plate recognition, injecting junk data in to the systems, hence making it harder for automated systems to monitor and track you | |
| Solo Key | |
| Another FIDO2 physical security key for 2-facto authentication and storing encryption keys. SoloKeys have both open source hardware and software, they are easy to use out of the box, but can also be used for developers and makers, since there is a well documented CLI | |
| Nano Ledger | |
| If you are in possession of Bitcoin or other crypto then one of the most secure ways to store, send and receive coins is with a hardware wallet. Ledger has a solid reputation when it comes to hardware encryption, and the main principle behind their wallets is to provide full isolation between the private keys and your easy-to-hack computer or smartphone | |
| Cold Storage | |
| If you are not planning on spending your crypto any time soon, and do not want to trust a tech-based solution, then consider this metal cold storage wallet. Unlike writing your private key down on paper, this will not fade, and cannot be destroyed by water, fire of other environmental circumstances. Of course you could just engrave your key on a small sheet of aluminium | |
| Anonabox | |
| Plug-and-play Tor router, that can be used with public WiFi while travelling, or at home. Anonabox provides easy access to the deep web and lets you bypass censorship, protect your location, deter data collection and more. It can also be used with a VPN, or for online hosting. Of course you could build a similar product your self using a Raspberry Pi and a WiFi range extender | |
| Deauth Detector | |
| Most WiFi hacks begin by sending deauth packets, so that connected clients will briefly be disconnected to the network. This ESP8266 comes pre-flashed with @SpaceHuhn's deauth detector (which you can view here, on GitHub). Once it detects deauthentication or disassociation frames, it will activate a speaker to notify you | |
| WiPhone | |
| A fully open source, modular and easily customizable phone for VOIP and LoRa. Great for making free calls over WiFi, communicating locally over LoRa, or just tinkering thanks to its ESP32 pinouts | |
| Librem 5 | |
| Security and Privacy focused smart phone by Purism. With hardware kill switches and specially designed software, this device runs Linux, and does not track you. It Separates CPU from Cellular Baseband, uses IP-Native Communication First and Decentralized Communication by Default. The source code is user-controlled, and has layered security protection. Purism also have other security-focused products | |
| Slate Travel Router | |
| The GL-AR750S-Ext can serve as a Wi-Fi access point, a pfSense firewall or a portable router with always-on VPN connectivity. It's great for controlling your network (firewall, VPN, ad-block, web filtering, data limits and more) when traveling or away from home |
Don't want to spend money? Most of the products above, plus some that wearn't included can be built at home with some pretty simple hardware and open source software. The following list will point you in the right direction to start making!
See Also DIY Networking Hardware
If you are confident with electronics, then you could also make:
We can go even further, these products are far from essential and are maybe a little over-the-top. But fun to play around with, if you really want to avoid being tracked!
Gadgets that help protect and anonamise your internet, detect & prevent intrusions and provide additional network controlls, both at home and while traveling. There are many products like this availible, some of them are over-priced for what they are, others provide some really essential network security features. It is possible to re-create some of these solutions yourself, to save money above.
See more open source firewall apps
For most projects, a Raspberry Pi 3 or 4 is more than enough. You could also build your own hardware, see this guide on constructing a gateware firewall yourself.
Hardware-based encryption uses a device’s on-board security to perform encryption and decryption. It is self-contained and does not require the help of any additional software. Therefore, it is essentially free from the possibility of contamination, malicious code infection, or vulnerability, and able to be used on any platform.
If the device itself becomes compromised, your data will remain safe. Really useful backing up, transporting and sharing personal data safely. For maximum security, you can combine hardware encryption with software encryption.
Reliable options include:
Alternatively, a cheaper option would be a software-encrypted USB. VeraCrypt is cross-platform open source encryption application. It's surprisingly simple (see this how-to guide), and very secure. Combine this with an ordinary USB drive, this high-speed (300mb/s) 256GB flash drive is a great option
For encryption your boot drive, you can use BitLocker (Windows), FileVault (OSX), or any of these options for Linux.
Small, low-cost but essential devise. It attaches inbetween your USB cable and the charging socket, and will physically block data transfer and syncing while charging. Totally mitigates the risk of being hacked via a USB exploit, and stops anything being uploaded to your device.
PortaPow (3rd gen) is one of the best options, since it has a SmartCharge chip (which isn't usually possible without the data wire).
You can also build your own very easily, here is a schematic.
Word of Warning: Sometimes the cable itself can be dangerous. See O.M.G Cable, it looks like a totally authentic phone cable, but is actually able to deploy advanced exploits often without you being able to identify. It is always best label your cables, to ensure you are using your own, safe wire.
Physical 2-factor authentication keys are a secure and convinient method of authentication. See twofactorauth.org for a list of websites that provide 2FA.
You can also build your own key, see U2f-Zero by Conor Patrick, lets you turn a Pi Zero into a second-factor auth method. Or check out NitroKey, for a guide on building U2F with an ESP-8266, see this Hackaday article
The most secure medium to store your currency is cold (offline) wallets, since they cannot be hacked. Of course it is vital that you keep your private keys somewhere that they cannot be stolen, and cannot be lost or destroyed. Electronic devices can make it easy to securely store and spend crypto currency. Choose a wallet that is open source, and with a good reputation. Ensure you backup your seed, and keep it somewhere safe.
Always ensure the packaging has not been tampered with, buy direct from the manufacturer when possible.
Contributions welcome and appreciated - to propose an edit raise an issue or open a PR. See: CONTRIBUTING.md
Licensed under Creative Commons, CC BY 4.0, © Alicia Sykes 2020
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