I think what you are trying to say is that if they have shell access it is insecure and yes I agree with that
But even if they have shell access, as long as I can be assured no one else is logged in, I can make any linux box just as secure in about twelve minutes using the above scenario.
Yes in what I described there are weaknesses such as L1 cache doping to vastly reduce uncertainty making identification of prime stripes in packets trivial, but to practically pull that off you need an electron microscope installed above a naked operating processor meaning the entire room has to be sub zero and sealed from contaminants and prepared days beforehand
Which means that any joe schmo spinning up a digitalocean droplet isn’t going to be hosted on a machine with NSA grade top level memory and CPU observation installed
I was more thinking that, in theory, anything you install and run could be compromised from the get go. With enough prep, any distro could be replaced with a compromised version on the fly and you would have no way to tell. Any tools you use could similarly be compromised to give you untrustworthy output. It would require a heck of a lot of investment, but not beyond the scale of nation states, and would be pretty scalable.
How are they ‘changing on the fly’ the distro I downloaded the week before and ran a CRC check on?
Well, you’re uploading it remotely at some point. Essentially it’s a supply chain attack, where during the process of upload it’s compromised by the remote server. The logic would be - they can fingerprint any reasonable distro you might use, and replace it with a pre-prepared compromised version. Any tools you might use to check its veracity could potentially be poisoned the same way, no? As I said, remote possibility and high cost, but not implausible.
Serious question, do you have any background in IT security?
If you are running an ‘illegal’ service, why not host it on a virally distributed botnet and embrace the chaos and mistrust in your host systems? Might be the best way to detach from anyhing physical with a fixed location that causes traceable bills.
I think what you are trying to say is that if they have shell access it is insecure and yes I agree with that
But even if they have shell access, as long as I can be assured no one else is logged in, I can make any linux box just as secure in about twelve minutes using the above scenario.
Yes in what I described there are weaknesses such as L1 cache doping to vastly reduce uncertainty making identification of prime stripes in packets trivial, but to practically pull that off you need an electron microscope installed above a naked operating processor meaning the entire room has to be sub zero and sealed from contaminants and prepared days beforehand
Which means that any joe schmo spinning up a digitalocean droplet isn’t going to be hosted on a machine with NSA grade top level memory and CPU observation installed
I was more thinking that, in theory, anything you install and run could be compromised from the get go. With enough prep, any distro could be replaced with a compromised version on the fly and you would have no way to tell. Any tools you use could similarly be compromised to give you untrustworthy output. It would require a heck of a lot of investment, but not beyond the scale of nation states, and would be pretty scalable.
How are they ‘changing on the fly’ the distro I downloaded the week before and ran a CRC check on?
Serious question, do you have any background in IT security?
I ask that because to cover this properly will take effort, and I’m not prepared to waste that on someone who won’t understand what I’m writing.
Well, you’re uploading it remotely at some point. Essentially it’s a supply chain attack, where during the process of upload it’s compromised by the remote server. The logic would be - they can fingerprint any reasonable distro you might use, and replace it with a pre-prepared compromised version. Any tools you might use to check its veracity could potentially be poisoned the same way, no? As I said, remote possibility and high cost, but not implausible.
A little. I’m in IT, and know the basics.
If you are running an ‘illegal’ service, why not host it on a virally distributed botnet and embrace the chaos and mistrust in your host systems? Might be the best way to detach from anyhing physical with a fixed location that causes traceable bills.