Comments on: Freeze Memory Chips, Steal Encrypted Data

By: mustchat

mustchat — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 09:04:37 +0000

does the freeze spray stop the memory cogs from turning inside the memory chip?
when you put the memory chips in another computer, how can it read the memory if the cogs can’t turn?
Should I start freeze spraying my memory sticks so that I don’t lose vital data?
If so, how do I prevent getting frost bite in my leg when I put the memory stick in my pocket?

By: raul

raul — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 04:27:10 +0000

I’ve done surface mount soldering before… it seems like (esp. with the dot grid type of chip in the picture) that freezing a chip mounted to a pc board and soldered (sometimes poorly) by a robot would cause the solder joints to fail. Maybe not?

By: soman

soman — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 15:29:52 +0000

yes
good

By: nitsareb

nitsareb — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 23:54:25 +0000

I saw a video with a guy doing this hack by linking his laptop to the other with a lan cable, then running a program to extract the security keys from the frozen RAM on the Other laptop. It was a few weeks ago so I can’t find the link just now.

By: Joel

Joel — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 13:29:01 +0000

“Good time and money that could have been spent curing AIDS perhaps?”

Amadeus that’s a good point..

By: Amadeus

Amadeus — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 02:17:44 +0000

Good time and money that could have been spent curing AIDS perhaps?

“No we’ve found that retrieving lost encrypted DRAM was a much worse problem.”

By: dur

dur — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 22:41:46 +0000

I agree with captain oblivious. Airport security has the legal right to confiscate and search computers at any time, without warrant. since i’m no lawyer, i can’t tell u the the name of the law, but it exists and is being lobbied against. in searching, they may do anything required to gain access into a computer, and RAM will definitely hold important information after shutdown. in fact, here’s a link i also stumbled which is rather relevant, if a lil’ paranoid: http://www.news.com/8301-13578_3-9892897-38.html?tag=nefd.lede

By: Crypt

Crypt — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 15:41:05 +0000

The vulnerability is more likely useful in attacking the PINPads used in retail stores. They are designed to destroy their key data if tampered with. If the PINPad was frozen it may give the attacker a chance at reading the PIN encryption key. Only useful if they had previously recorded PINPad usage.

By: Mr. Byte

Mr. Byte — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 07:12:54 +0000

@Steeve:

Errr, the “Propellant” you’re referring to doesn’t exist. The air itself is liquid, in the can, and under pressure.

It also is quite cold, thus the “frostbite” warnings found on some brands of canned air.

And it doesn’t take much liquid air to freeze things. I’ve used it to chill electronics while chasing a thermal intermittent problem. The frost forms rather quickly.

By: Alexandru Strimbeanu

Alexandru Strimbeanu — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 20:50:07 +0000

I have seen a movie where this was proved, just to clear things.

Second, this method can be used if you keep your laptop on hibernate or standby. It takes you roughly 30 seconds to do this, all you have to do is plug in an external USB Hdd, reboot the laptop, let the software run and there you go, you stole the information.

It’s not about stealing information from you as a desktop user or people stalking you to see when you power off your pc, it’s about you leaving you laptop unsupervised, that’s when it’s logical to use this method.

By: iwinulose

iwinulose — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 19:26:23 +0000

I’m sorry, but as far as “vulnerabilities” go this is as out-there as they get. If a burglar has come far enough that he’s managed to nab my computer, pop open the case (which happens to be secured by the anal-though-not-insurmountable “chassis security switch”)FREEZE my RAM, that burglar is welcome to whatever binary data he can then read with his $100,000(,000)+ magnetic reader.

By: Steev

Steev — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 14:31:57 +0000

Can of air my arse.

I’d like to see the can of compressed air that contained enough propellant to freeze your RAM like the picture above, without causing enough condensation to short between any circuitry.

By: Koet

Koet — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 12:08:56 +0000

I think most of you are missing the point here. Think of keys for say, HD-DVD movies being stored by an app in memory. You could then possibly get at them through this. I agree, this method probably not really completely true / workable or even economically viable, but makes you think none the less.

By: erowid

erowid — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 00:43:16 +0000

i too highly doubt someone would be able to get into my house and crack my computer up a minute after i power down without me shooting kicking stabbing or just plain skull banging them to death. poiiiintlesss but its nice to kno the guys at princeton spend as much time with air in a can as i do

By: sianz

sianz — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 12:26:01 +0000

like i always say, even if you have 10 levels of security, as long as it is tied to you. Whoever wants your info can just torture you until you give up the key.

No fancy freezing needed. meh.