Networking Tricks, Creating safer wireless networks Options

[Samaels Ghost]

In SR3 there were all kinds of neat tricks to protect a system. Reading Target:Matrix tricks like chokepoints and vanishing SANs seem to be the only plausible way to protect Shadowland networks. What would Shadowland do to create a secure wireless system?

What tricks have you thought up to protect your personal commlinks, team communication, Corporate systems, etc?

I've thought about using AR RFID tag spam to produce Vis mods on opponents. I'm not claiming it's original, just that it might be a good idea to spring on opponents using AR Image links or other such things.

[James McMurray]

One of the few and easiest ways to make your wireless system incredibly safe is to remove it from the wireless world.

[Samaels Ghost]

That effectively makes it a hardline system.

Oh, the wireless inhibiting wallpaint and what not I already know about, of course. I'm itching for new stuff.

[neon_samurai]

I think some people over thinking all this...

The way I see it, most of your cyberware needs not be attached to your commlink or the wireless world at all. There was talk some time ago about people hacking a commlink and shutting of Wired Reflexes, or turning a cyber arm against the owner. Why would those two items even be attached to the commlink?

Realyy the only things I can see attaching would be visual links (to share tactical data between team members), a biomonitor (for the combat medic), and maybe a few non critical systems here and there. I cannot think of a reason to connect a cyber limb.

Here's a question though...

Say I have goggles and a smartlink system. Can I have my goggles setup on my commlink to get info from the team, but have my smartlink set to "SEND ONLY" mode. That way I'd get all the info from my smartlink in my goggles, but a hacker would be unable to deactivate the smartlink (although he could just reboot the goggles)

Anyway, my 2 nuyen

[Samaels Ghost]

[Teulisch]

Well, it depends. IF your team has a hacker, then he will be actively defending the team from matrix threats, much like the mage does counterspelling and banishing.

If you hook your eyes/ears to the group PAN to share info, its simple enough to create a small subscriber list, with only one member actualy dealing with external sources (the hacker). so anyone that wants to hack Sam, needs to hack the chokepoint that is the teams matrix specialist. that makes dealing with a balanced team much more difficult.

The best use of AR, may well be to network so my team-mates SL guns show me where they point, so i can avoid crossfire. To show me a map of the area im in, with locations of where we know the enemy to be. It's a lot like use wallhacks in counterstrike to see the enemy through walls.

now, if your solo, and you need your commlink on ghost mode... yes theres some risk. all you can really do is get a good firewall.

I think one good idea, is simply to have any and all incoming trafic show a note in your visual feild. So if hacker A gets into my commlink, I get a note. i dont recognize the adress, so i can now take an action to see whats going on with my commlink. If i think it necessary i can turn it off. The only problem here is you can get a lot of false positives. but better safe than sorry...

[Aaron]

Don't forget Analyze. It's a commlink's first line of defense against intrusion.

[Samaels Ghost]

Not neccesarily a networking trick but....

Dumping active Agents into your enemy's node would be a great way to sap their Response, would it not? Your subscription limits go up to 12 so that's 12 independant agents.

Getting them all running on yours first would be the problem...

[James McMurray]

so much for talking about secure systems. This thread my hold the record for fastest off topic discussion. 3 Posts has probably been beat before though. It sounds like such a small number until the realization that this is dumpshock sinks in. :)

[Samaels Ghost]

Any suggestions then McMurray? it would be much appreciated :D

[Platinum]

Places like shadowland are now hosted on albino technomancer l33t b01s.
if they are getting attacked they just put on their tinfoil hats.

[Samaels Ghost]

Har Har :rotfl:

Technos don't have 'internal memory', they have to use external storage.

If you were just trying to make a joke, i apologize for taking it too seriously

[Lagomorph]

Unfortunately, by the rules and what is described in the fluff, little can be done. They make no mention of matrix choke points, and all the other good stuff.

The problem with wireless is that you don't just have the option of attacking the comm directly, you also can do man in the middle attacks, intercepting and then spoofing commands, which by the rules basically bypasses all of the defenses on a commlink.

That being said, agents make a great defensive measure. If you can run two, make one a detect agent to find the intruder, and the other an attack agent. That along with a firewall is the best you can do with out turning wireless off.

Another trick is having multiple commlinks, one public and one hidden, the hidden one connecting to your gear, and the public one looking obvious and weak so hackers will go for the ruse.

[Samaels Ghost]

BBB?

[Lagomorph]

BBB = Big Black Book, SR4 main book.

[Samaels Ghost]

oops. now im hip to the lingo....

[Geekkake]

Fact of the matter is, we're not really gonna get any solid, gear-based protection measures until Unwired, which is scheduled for, what, 2007? In theory?

Regarding cyberarms and such being omgtotally hax0red and introducing the "stop hitting yourself!" style of hacker offense, one needs to recall DNI, which is almost assuredly connected to the commlink and the arm itself. However, that introduces the whole argument about the existence of DNI, which we've beat to paste and beyond.

So, in some continuums (some people's groups - mine, for example), you can do it. In others, you can't. Choose wisely.

[Lagomorph]

Yeah, in my group we outlawed the "stop hitting yourself" attack, out of general consensus that it was just dumb. Items that required wireless were still vulnerable, our hacker spoofed an opponents' guns eject command because it was smartlinked.

[GrinderTheTroll]

[Samaels Ghost]

No more nifty Matrix tricks? I'm sure there's more

[James McMurray]

[Samaels Ghost]

hymnal is pretty funny

[Nim]

[Glayvin34]

I always run two or three non-wireless enabled commlinks behind my primary that are idle and loaded up with Agents. Then I can summon them as a free communication action instead of a complex action. Very useful for cybercombat or just when something seems amiss.

AND, most importantly, always take the Commlink specialty with your Hacking skill and the Analyze specialty with your Computer skill.

[Cain]

You can always run multiple commlinks on yourself. Set all of your shadow-gear to skinlink-only, and let the rest be open. If someone decks your open gear, you can always shut it off. Just make sure that the stuff you put in the open looks nice, but isn't really important to you. For example, you can put a smartlinked pistol on a high-signal network, as well as a set of goggles, and then wear the goggles on your forehead and leave the pistol in your backpack. Your contacts, glasses, and smart-SMG are on a different commlink, all set to skinlink and with a deliberately reduced signal.

If you're a non-decker, then you can always run your own tiered network. Since everything in SR4 is wireless, and has a default Device Rating of 1, you can turn your clothes into a tiered-access setup. Each device can only be subscribed to 2 items-- in this case, the node "before" and "after" it. To stealthily infiltrate this setup, you have to go from node to node; if you try jumping it midstream, you'll cause the entire downline to suddenly drop off, alerting the user. And, natch, there's going to be Rating 1 Ice on every node-- not a major threat, but enough to seriously cramp a decker's style under these circumstances.