HIR Issue 6: mobile hacking part deux
equipment, manners and etc. by Asmodian X
Hacking is a risky sport at best. When in the field, it's best to look like you're supposed to be there, or better yet, looking like you're not there at all.
You can achieve this in several ways, some of which are:
- costuming
- camouflage
- equipment
- background
- social engineering
I can not cover everything, because what you need will vary drastically as per situation. Some examples of poor preparation are...
scenario 1:
An employee of wally-mart exits her store at about 10:30pm. She hears some loud whooping, and sees several teenagers all dressed in black. The teenagers all hop over a wall into a cell phone company's trash bins. They continue the commotion and then leave the bins <thoroughly trashed> and haul away their spoils. Afterwhich they peel out and leave the area.
Our person here is left with several options,
- A. call the police and report a disturbance/trespassing.
- B. Go home with the incident on their conscience.
- C. Scream "AHHH! HACKERS!!" really loud and faint.
They will probably do A and C. chances are that spot is un-trashable for the duration of the store's management cycle, until new management comes in and wonders why they have armed guards guarding the garbage...
Some of the things that could be avoided were: Time period, Conduct, gear,
and location.
* Part 1 * Timing
Always survey your destination ahead of time, find out the hours of operation of the destination. Businesses are likely to have professional cleaning services after hours. Find the location of your desired target <ie. dumpsters, bell cans, etc.>, and assess any possible security measures of the surrounding area. Stop by one night and see if there's night security on days and weekends. Take note of surrounding areas, fast food restaurants will not be vacated until after midnight usually. Retail will close at 8-10pm and will be vacated by 11 usually. Cafe's and specialty stores my vary. Some stores never close. <ie. Denny's>
So your ideal time is about 11:30pm to 3am in the way of timing. Although the police will be patrolling during those times, some say 4 to 5 am, but morning crews tend be more active then. So use your best judgment.
* Part 2 * Conduct
Attracting attention to your self is generally not a good idea in hacking, so its important to blend in. Don't wear clothing that stands out, such as bright colors, odd styles such as tie dye...etc Look like everybody else. Generally favor darker colors for clothing, DO NOT USE ALL BLACK. The important thing is to look and act like your just out for a midnight walk. It's also important to have the same reason for being there as the guy standing next to you. If some one asks and there's a difference in everyone's alibi, then y ou're in trouble. Another item to be aware of is shoes, tennis shoes are not a good idea, wear something like thick soled boots or some hightops with thick soles, jeans or a good idea as well, trashing some times can be dangerous if there are sharp obje cts in the bin with you, be careful!
Above all else, LEAVE THINGS THE WAY YOU FOUND THEM!
scenario 2:
Jim: Well officer me and fred and timmy over there were just out on a walk and we ...
Fred: Well me Jim and timmy over there were on our way home from a party over on west street.
Timmy: I was walking back to Fred's house after we checked out some one I knew at that coffee shop over there.
Busted...
------------
*The right equipment*
There are several situations that you may or may not face.
- Surveillance
- Gathering
- Mobile light weight, hit and run
- heavy base station
(surveillance)
Generally you will want very few items on you, hauling a laptop extension cords...etc tends to make you look suspicious. Just wear something casual, maybe a polo-shirt, with some jeans. Don't look like a punk, or a freak, look clean cut. If checkin g out what a place does, pose as a customer <if applicable> or a tourist <when applicable> and generally you want to take everything at leisure. Your equipment should simply be cash, only what you need to prove you are who you say you are <you probably better off going on foot and not bring ID's>, a small pocket flash light, maybe a small camera < if necesessary>, a small pocket knife, pen, and a notepad, Only 3 or 4 things. If you only have jeans on, just bring a small pocket knife, and a notepad and pen. Don't have bulging pockets that also looks suspicious. Avoid going in a group, side remarks to your cohorts are some what suspici ous.
If surveying from afar, avoid the classic "park the car across from where the place is" routine, Umm Gee boss are we being watched? Look like you're supposed to be there, park farther away if necessary in a less conspicuous setting and use binoculars if necessary.
(Gathering)
It is important to rehearse the gathering session ahead of time with your cohorts. Go over your <alibi(s)> and if everything goes bad what to do. Your gear should be able to be concealed in an overcoat. Clothing should be comparable to your setting , and alibi. During night time operations use darker colored clothing and avoid bulky<loud> equipment. <if you have a large keychain, detatch only what keys you need, and leave the rest>. Bring the only ID's you need, if on location, leave real id's behind at home or in the car <somewhere>. Also pay attention to your footwear, don't wear your bright white nike hightops, bring running shoes, or something that ma tches the terrain, boots for poor terrain ...etc.
The equipment you will probably need will be a small pen light <or one of those Mini Mag lights> or a clip on light. What ever works, it must be small and fit into your pocket with ease. Good pair of leather gloves or rubber gloves, its important to get a good grip w. the gloves with out cutting the finger tips off. ie. finger prints. If your going to be hauling papers or stuff in general, have a cloth sack with you.. something stuffable, like into a pocket. Paper and plastic sacks make WAY too much noise. A small pocket knife and what ever tools you need must also be pocket-sized. Metal tools make clanking noises, so wrap them separately from each other. Or cover them with foam tape or electrical tape to reduce the noise. Be sure to have closeable pockets ..ie. Zippers and buttons, so when running nothing bounces out.
(Light weight Hit and Run)
A light weight hit in run will be a will be just as rehearsed as the pervious two types of actions. Same scenario, ie. clothing types stories...etc. You will be using items that can be fit into a backpack. Items such as small laptop and or palmtop with necessary tools for your goal. Avoid stuffing a backpack full with books and stuff. Just the bare essentials to get things done. Around no more than 8 pounds of equipment should be put into a backpack. Anything above that will affect stamina and running speed, though if you are physically fit, more weight would be acceptable. Items to be considered would be a Clip on flashlight, with a laptop or a palmtop a person would have their hands busy with the computer and not have time for fiddling with a flashlight. Also consider using a red lens with a flashlight, it will not affect your night vision as much. I must stress that you have very little equipment, because there is less to toss in the backpack and haul ass with.
(Heavy Base station)
You will only want to use a base station setup if you have access to a private area with hook ups for utilities, possibly a telephone, power and air-conditioning with shelter. It is also preferable to not be in plain sight (i.e. some utility room, o r closet). A base station is a mobile <luggable> setup that can easily be scraped down in a short time, and carried <lugged> away. An example is Kevin Mitnicks car setup.. He found a remote location, had a car battery hookup for a Pentium 90 desktop sysstem. complete with cell-modem. With a base station setup, a person could set up a quick and dirty Dialup server for others to use. Even a CB relay setup could be feasible.
A person would want to use a laptop or some other IBM PC based all in one unit. Palmtops or Macintoshes are not very flexible unless it can run Linux or some other REAL operating system. DESKTOPS are only to be used if you absolutely need the most capacity possible, ie. for like multiple modems, special devices...etc. In all situations it is preferable to gather what you need, and then digest it later. The goal of the base station is to have an independent computing center that is self sufficient but can tap into external resou rces when available.
In the way of personnel, 3 people is about all you can get away with, any more than that would be un-necessary chatter. A person could push it and bring more than that if in a remote enough area, and there were no danger of passer by's being attract ed by the noise. Posting a lookout with a handheld CB-radios, Family band radios or long range walkie-talkies may also be a good idea.
*LOCATION*
Some places just are not worth going to, to do dirty work. If there are security guards, lots of lights and a fairly busy surroundings, it would be wise to look at other ways of obtaining information. When surveying a spot, also take note of meetin g places, like a denny's down the road, or the quickie mart across the street. If anything goes wrong have a set meeting place to regroup at. <also, depending on how bad things get, you may want to set a period of time where no one may associate with each other, anything over 8 weeks is generally a good idea. <but it really depends on how bad things get, 2 weeks may work just as well>. The meeting spot must be in running distance, and far enough away from your site so that to not attract any attention. The location must have food, warmth and must be secure. Talk to your cohorts outside and away from listening ears. calm down out side and catch your breath before entering, and try to look normal.
Addendum 1
Table of gear for situations
Surveillance:
- Pen Light
- note pad & pen
- camera (optional)
- Pocket Knife
Gathering:
- Good Quality Flashlight (ie. Mini Maglight)
- red lens (for night vision)
- clip on
- Pocket Utility Knife
- Gloves <don't cut off finger tips!>
- Stuff Bag <No paper or Plastic! Cloth Perfered>
- Misc. Tools <be sure to wrap your tools with tape so they don't make any noise!>
Light Weight, Hit and run:
- <Same as Above>
- Clip Light may be necessary
- Laptop or 8 Lbs of gear for task
Heavy Mobile command station
All u kan Haul!
- Power - ups, extension cord(s), Batteries o plenty, power strips
- Computers - Laptops Preferred, IBM compatible(s), OS- DOS/WIN/W95/LINUX/UN*X be sure to be able to run the OS w/o problems be sure to have open ports for peripherals
- Storage - HD/FD; and or Parallel Zip Drive or equivalent
- At least 14.4 kbps Modem
- Acoustic Coupler (on pay phones baud rate is usually 1200 bps :< )
- Extension cords for phone cord
- Access Tools
* Be sure to pack for the unexpected <tarps, portable stools>
* Bring food as well if yer gonna be there for a while
------------------------------------------------------------
