IPB

Welcome Guest ( Log In | Register )

3 Pages V   1 2 3 >  
Reply to this topicStart new topic
> SR4 Matrix and the plot
Hyde
post Jul 11 2007, 09:26 PM
Post #1


Target
*

Group: Members
Posts: 40
Joined: 26-May 06
Member No.: 8,607



With everything wireless, it has become easier for hackers to ruin your plot by hacking everything from outside (proviidng they have good skills and programs) then getting any info available. It's hard to have a site completely cut from the matrix, as they need at least one connection to a security service for instance, and the hacker can hack everything from this point.
While it has its good points (like data searching without the trouble of finding a jackpoint, discussion with team members, ...), the drawback is hard !
Has the need of the hacker to physically go to the node's place disappeared?
How do you deal with that in your games?
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
Buster
post Jul 11 2007, 09:30 PM
Post #2


Running Target
***

Group: Members
Posts: 1,246
Joined: 8-June 07
Member No.: 11,869



Three words: Wireless blocking paint.
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
coolgrafix
post Jul 11 2007, 09:36 PM
Post #3


Moving Target
**

Group: Dumpshocked
Posts: 453
Joined: 15-August 02
From: Kansas City, MO
Member No.: 3,116



Not sure I'm following you. There were isolated systems off the Matrix proper in previous editiions and they still exist in 2070. Can't avoid having to go to the facility.

Sort of sounds like you're saying that just because a company's building has a Matrix connection to their off-site security monitoring firm that the hacker can exploit this connection to get carte blanche, and that's just not necessarily the case. No reason for the monitoring service to in any way share the same internal filespace as the rest of a company's network.
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
James McMurray
post Jul 11 2007, 09:37 PM
Post #4


Great Dragon
*********

Group: Members
Posts: 5,430
Joined: 10-January 05
From: Fort Worth, Texas
Member No.: 6,957



Truly secure data should not be connected to the same servers the wage slaves use to surf the web between cracks of the whip. Anything worthy of a well-paying run is likely to be land-line only, requiring the decker get inside the building, or a secure subsection of the building, in order to do his thing.

Also, if it's possible to "ruin your plot" I think you're looking at the GM's job from the wrong angle, but that's entirely opinion and something that's probably too big for this thread to contain.
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
Buster
post Jul 11 2007, 09:38 PM
Post #5


Running Target
***

Group: Members
Posts: 1,246
Joined: 8-June 07
Member No.: 11,869



Check out knassers totally awesome matrix site. He explains it all very well and has tons of GMing ideas:
http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?showtopic=17976
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
knasser
post Jul 11 2007, 10:18 PM
Post #6


Shadow Cartographer
*******

Group: Members
Posts: 3,737
Joined: 2-June 06
From: Secret Tunnels under the UK (South West)
Member No.: 8,636



QUOTE (Buster)
Check out knassers totally awesome matrix site. He explains it all very well and has tons of GMing ideas:
http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?showtopic=17976


Thank you for that. Happiness + 1. :)

I worry that some GMs use wireless blocking paint habitually, always with the default assumption that it is their job to ensure that the 4th edition rules never affect the way things used to work. ;) But then I have similar feelings about the frequent use of background count to hamstring mages.

There are several reasons why a hacker would go onsite.

First and foremost, is probably that the hacker is part of the team and the team might need her with them. They are not going to be happy when they stumble at a maglock and their hacker is at home. Or a security camera or heavily armed drone, automatic tripod gun, a security guard they need to stop using his commlink to raise the alert, ad infinitem. A good hacker does far more than Matrix bimbling. And as a consequence, you'll want her with you.

Secondly, working your way through the outside of a system to get to the good bits can take time. A lot of time. In fact, unless the hacker wants to hack on the fly, also known as the "Guys, I'm taking a 1 in 3 chance of blowing the run before we even start" approach, then it's going to take hours to get in. At least. There are numerous occasions when you don't have hours to spare. You need in right now, and physically penetrating the compound is often one way of jumping past the security.

Thirdly, it might actually be safer. Try as he might, it's more than possible for an enemy hacker or IC to track the hacker's physical location. Especially the hacker. You don't want to be in a VR coma with all your tough friends busy storming a corp HQ twenty miles away when Lonestar bust down your door. And that's leaving aside that they now know where your safe house is, too.

Fourthly, if something goes wrong, the hacker who is with the team can still provide a useful function. He can shut down cameras directly and hack terminals right in front of him. The remote hacker can theoretically do just as much but if he blows his cover early on, that player is going to end up sitting around waiting to find out if his friends come home or not. It can be a bit all or nothing when your remote, but the hacker onsite still has options.

Fifth, there is communication. If the team has to go silent, or the opposition are onto them and start severing outside connections, the hacker might find herself in the unpleasant position of not knowing what her teamates are doing or where they are. Of course it's worse for the team onsite who just want one little door opened before they all get torn apart by hell hounds. ;)

Finally, and I know it's a cliche, there are some things that aren't connected to the rest of the system. I use this very sparingly but you can say that Lab X isn't connected to the main systems and someone is going to have to go in there in person.

And all that said, you often find that the hacker is not a pure hacker, but is a samurai hacker. Very often, they want to go in and shoot people. ;)

However, having made a big solid case for why the hacker has to go in, it can be quite fun to have the hacker running oversight from home. After all, there are still risks for the hacker. And I find that hacker archetypes often appeal to the cerebal strategist type of player, so the position of Lieutenant Goreman in Aliens, that is to say co-ordinating the assault with the plans and the hacked security camera feeds the blinking icons, can be plenty of fun too.

-K.
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
Eleazar
post Jul 11 2007, 10:22 PM
Post #7


Moving Target
**

Group: Members
Posts: 398
Joined: 16-August 06
Member No.: 9,130



Every corporate facility is going to have something to the effect of VPN in Shadowrun. Corporations are always looking for more ways to get the most out of the wageslaves and one of the best is to even have them work when they aren't at work. I don't see any big corporation not having some way for a wageslave to connect from home to be able to get work done. This would mean having whatever access they needed to get the job done, which is going to be your whole network. I don't see things changing, even Microsoft, one of the most security conscious corporations out there today, has VPN access to their network. It is just something that is very necessary today in corporations to ensure optimum work productivity. I don't see that changing in 2070 in our future, and I don't see that being any different in the very corporation focused world of Shadowrun.

Even the US government uses VPNs. The only places I can see having their network completely closed off, in Shadowrun, are places where all employees live on-site. Even then, such places will be connected to the main corporate or government network. Otherwise, it becomes way too difficult to manage that network and ensure strict security policy on that network. Not only that, but I think the management at the main corporate headquarters would want to be able to get data from offsite without having to travel to every offsite facility.

Even if you block something with wireless paint, there is going to be a link somewhere that will let a hacker in. I have already listed an exception to this rule, feel free to add any you can think of. The hacker bar in Knasser's PDF is a good example of another exception.

One other thing to realize, if a network is completely closed off from the outside world, that means it is also completely closed off TO the outside world. Anyone on that network won't be able to make a phone call to any of their clients or partners; unless there is another network running right along side it that is, you guessed it, open.
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
James McMurray
post Jul 11 2007, 10:33 PM
Post #8


Great Dragon
*********

Group: Members
Posts: 5,430
Joined: 10-January 05
From: Fort Worth, Texas
Member No.: 6,957



QUOTE (Eleazar)
One other thing to realize, if a network is completely closed off from the outside world, that means it is also completely closed off TO the outside world. Anyone on that network won't be able to make a phone call to any of their clients or partners, unless there is another network running right along side it that is, you guessed it, open.

In modern security, at least in the two government contractor companies I've worked for so far, computer labs that are higher than Classified work exactly like that. All of the work is done on computers that are behind closed and locked doors. If the people in the lab are lucky enough to have an outside computer connection they share a single computer that everyone takes turns on checking email, surfing the web, and updating their calendar. The room may have an outside network, but it's completely worthless to anyone trying to hack their way in from the outside.

The non-government-contract R&D work we do follows similar guidelines, but I've never worked on one of those projects so can't give full details.
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
Ravor
post Jul 12 2007, 03:51 AM
Post #9


Cybernetic Blood Mage
******

Group: Members
Posts: 3,472
Joined: 11-March 06
From: Northeastern Wyoming
Member No.: 8,361



Plus you have to remember that unlike the real world, encryption in the Sixth World is a joke, so unless the corps are run by morons, Matrix Security isn't going to relay on anything that requires decent encryption to actually work, so yes, Wi-Fi Blocking Paint, hardwired connections, and offline networks are going to be a big part in any corp security plan.
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
tweak
post Jul 12 2007, 06:18 AM
Post #10


Moving Target
**

Group: Members
Posts: 188
Joined: 26-August 05
Member No.: 7,622



I would think that wireless setups would mostly handle trivial applications. Data that needs to be restricted to a particular area would be offline -- not connected to the matrix at all. It could be on the keyring of an exec -- think of the future of usb thumb drives . It's better to disconnect the computer from the matrix then spend a fortune trying to come up with software based security.

If you want to read a modern take on corporate security, check out Corporate Espionage. It's a really good book and covers physical security and managing software security.

So let's say your runners are hired to obtain data. There are a few approaches:

1) break-in and steal it (probably more fun to play)
2) find someone inside to steal it for you
3) get a job inside and steal it

And your team will have to weight the risks with each approach.

tweak

Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
knasser
post Jul 12 2007, 07:26 AM
Post #11


Shadow Cartographer
*******

Group: Members
Posts: 3,737
Joined: 2-June 06
From: Secret Tunnels under the UK (South West)
Member No.: 8,636



QUOTE (Ravor @ Jul 12 2007, 03:51 AM)
Plus you have to remember that unlike the real world, encryption in the Sixth World is a joke, so unless the corps are run by morons, Matrix Security isn't going to relay on anything that requires decent encryption to actually work, so yes, Wi-Fi Blocking Paint, hardwired connections, and offline networks are going to be a big part in any corp security plan.


BY SR4 rules, a remote system can be just as secure as an on-site system.

Wageslaves 1-20 all work from home. They sit at their terminals in their studies, which together with a computer onsite, comprise a Corp Node A. Let's give it the following:
Node A (System 3, Firewall 5, Response 3, Analyze 3, Encrypt 3)

This node can function as the actual work environment, but to be a little more security concious, we will have a node that actually is onsite only, but which the external node connects to.

Node B (System 4, Firewall 4, Response 4, Analyze 4)

So the home wage-slave connects to Node A through their terminal at home, and then proceeds from there to go to Node B and get on with their work.

What are the ways that this set-up can be attacked by a hacker? Well getting to Node B where the juicy data is means going through Node A so in principle and practice, it isn't any easier than going to a site's normal external node and hacking your way through it to get inside. The only difference would not be between normal onsite systems and the offsite approach, but between both of these and an onsite approach that had no external connection to the Matrix at all. And for a long list of reasons, that approach is not compatible with normal day to day working. Remember that Saeder-Krupp's Secret Research Lab is not the standard. The standard is your average company and they will use this set-up routinely. The advantages are enormous.

Just to clarify how hacking the remote system would work, I'll give examples.

If the wageslaves connect to their terminals through a wireless link then a hacker could sneak into their house or squat below their window and attempt access (their home terminal will obviously only require a very low signal). If their connection to the terminal is wired, which is an easy choice), then the hacker is reduced to physically breaking in to access the terminal itself or somehow interfering with the signal at the data exchanges that route the signal to the office.

I would say for reasons of game balance and setting consistency that logging into a local Matrix exchange and tapping the swarm of signals being routed through it is a difficult task. Not impossible as it's been done in previous editions, but I would say that the weak point that will be attacked will be the worker's own home. So let us assume that the hacker squats outside the window (if wireless) or is forced to make a wired connection to the employee's terminal. What can they then do? Well if the system is wireless then they can tap the signal as follows:

Electronic Warfare + Scan (4) to locate the hidden node, followed by Response + Decrypt (6, 1 turn) to break the encryption (unless IC is used) followed by Electronic Warfare + Sniffer (3) test.

Note that IC could be used to strengthen the encryption in the above.

In any case, if they succeed on this then they will get to view the data that is going back and forth between the wageslave and his node. This will be a lot of virtual reality input, the equivalent of looking over someone's shoulder when they use a monitor. You might find useful information, but your certainly not able to root around in the system looking for it and that accounts spreadsheet that you're looking at is not a file you can snag. It's just a picture of the parts that the employee looks at. Very frustrating I would think and not nearly as effective as hacking the node.

Which brings us on to the second approach which is to hack the node properly. If it is wireless, then you can get close as above and make normal hacking rolls. If it is wired, then you have to physically connect somehow. But in either case, you are back to traditional hacking of the site that is no easier than locating the office itself and tyring to hack your way through whatever external facing node connects to the Matrix there.

Barring the peer over your shoulder possibility if you use wireless in your home, a home access system is no more vulnerable than making employees drag their way into the city and back every day. And for every act of intimidation or violence that can be threatened at the home employee, a resourceful shadowrunner can think of just as many for blackmailing them when they go to work physically (loved ones, secrets, just good intimidation rolls generally).

If wired:
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
Ravor
post Jul 12 2007, 01:24 PM
Post #12


Cybernetic Blood Mage
******

Group: Members
Posts: 3,472
Joined: 11-March 06
From: Northeastern Wyoming
Member No.: 8,361



Yes, yes I remember your argument against offices existing, the problem is that you are forgetting something very important, the onsite and offline node is more secure for one very important reason, in order to hack it at all a Decker has to first deal with physical security.

So unless the corps are run by morons, in a world where the best encryption money can buy is a joke they aren't going to keep their sensitive data on a Matrix connected system for any Decker to hack into. What they would do is keep it on an offline system and only connect briefly whenever it's necessary to do so. (Yes, this means that a clever Decker can use social engineering to arrange for a hacking window, ect.) The everyday functions such as telephones, ect that need a Matrix connection all of the fragging time would be handled by a different network.

So yes, offices still exist because the only way to have any real Matrix security in Fourth Edition is to only use onsite networks and not be connected to the Matrix at large.

*Edit*

Afer all, it's not only secret research labs that are handling sensitive data whose release would hurt a corp, it's a pity that without decent encryption even your typical office has to use the same tactics as your hardcore SK Lab does to provide Matrix security.
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
knasser
post Jul 12 2007, 05:39 PM
Post #13


Shadow Cartographer
*******

Group: Members
Posts: 3,737
Joined: 2-June 06
From: Secret Tunnels under the UK (South West)
Member No.: 8,636



QUOTE (Ravor)
Yes, yes I remember your argument against offices existing, the problem is that you are forgetting something very important, the onsite and offline node is more secure for one very important reason, in order to hack it at all a Decker has to first deal with physical security.


Yes. And I remember that my post there asking for actual details on how someone would hack my remote office under the RAW remains unanswered. You will notice, that I very explicitly stated in the post you've just replied to, that the remote solution is as secure as an onsite one that has a connection to the outside. So please don't say that I am "forgetting something very important" when if you scroll up about three inches you will find me talking about that very thing.

Yes. You can make a system more secure by severing all connection to the outside world. Is this feasible? Normally, it isn't. The implications of going entirely offline are:
No phone calls in or out.
No sharing or passing data to another office.
No research on the Matrix.
No access to sales people in the team, your accountant, your lawyer, your clients.
No calling your partner to tell him to pick the kids up because you're working late.
Nothing.

Now I did use the word "normally" here. (I also covered this in the post you replied to before you raised it). Maybe Saeder-Krupp's research labs keep their valuable data on a system that isn't connected to the rest of the world. It can only be read by someone who plugs his head into the mainframe onsite. This is what I said! But most places cannot work this way. Data needs to be shared and that doesn't happen by the accounts manager plugging her head into one box. Copying some files across and then plugging her head into another box so that she can transmit some payroll data to the bank. And then getting bank responses into her head and going back again. Repeat and repeat and repeat all day. There are a myriad of such examples - letters to lawyers, clients, contracts, writs, bank orders, tax returns, invoices, job offers, salary details, references, medical forms, delivery schedules, purchase orders, incoming letters, calls, messages, security information, work schedules, marketing data, sales figures. Any and all of this is potential paydata and none of it can be limited to a disconnected system.

You (Ravor) live in a world in which the only corporations are giant, monoliths that think nothing of adding 150% onto the cost of employee upkeep by dragging them in twenty miles each day and where the only data they ever work on is the top secret blue prints to the top secret optical chip that was developed entirely in one lab without the sharing of data with other labs or researchers. It might be an exciting world, but it's not a realistic one.

And finally, I once again hear you say thatweak encryption means it is "trivial" to break into the remote solution. Here is my specific question to you. No generalities, no unsupported statements that it's not secure because of "X" - tell me what you would roll to hack the site I gave above, where the employee at home has a wired connection to his home terminal. Because I was only illustrating a principle above and skimped on detail, consider there to be some IC on both nodes also. What you come up with will be no different to trying to hack a normal onsite solution that has a connection to the outside world.

-Khadim.
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
kzt
post Jul 12 2007, 05:47 PM
Post #14


Great Dragon
*********

Group: Members
Posts: 5,537
Joined: 27-August 06
From: Albuquerque NM
Member No.: 9,234



I break into his house, very carefully detangle the wad of cables behind his desk, find the one that runs to the wall port and add a very small device that sits between his terminal and the port. This establishes a connection to a device I have elsewhere on the matrix. Then I can listen to all the traffic bidirectionally and add additional traffic as desired, which the user will never see but will look like it's coming from his device to the mainframe.
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
James McMurray
post Jul 12 2007, 06:07 PM
Post #15


Great Dragon
*********

Group: Members
Posts: 5,430
Joined: 10-January 05
From: Fort Worth, Texas
Member No.: 6,957



QUOTE (knasser)
Yes. You can make a system more secure by severing all connection to the outside world. Is this feasible? Normally, it isn't. The implications of going entirely offline are:
No phone calls in or out.
No sharing or passing data to another office.
No research on the Matrix.
No access to sales people in the team, your accountant, your lawyer, your clients.
No calling your partner to tell him to pick the kids up because you're working late.
Nothing.

This is not true: it's handled quite easily by modern secure rooms. You simply have all necessary connections going through an unconnected network. Everyone still does their work on their secured network with no outside connections, and they either roll their chair to another machine or flip their monitors to the other box on their desk when they need an outside connection.

With 2070 technologies you'd flip back and forth between two seperate connections to your AR goggles. VR bouncing back and forth would be harder, but when something has to be secured management rarely pays attention to wage slave amenities.
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
knasser
post Jul 12 2007, 06:37 PM
Post #16


Shadow Cartographer
*******

Group: Members
Posts: 3,737
Joined: 2-June 06
From: Secret Tunnels under the UK (South West)
Member No.: 8,636



QUOTE (kzt)
I break into his house, very carefully detangle the wad of cables behind his desk, find the one that runs to the wall port and add a very small device that sits between his terminal and the port. This establishes a connection to a device I have elsewhere on the matrix. Then I can listen to all the traffic bidirectionally and add additional traffic as desired, which the user will never see but will look like it's coming from his device to the mainframe.


I find it highly unlikely there are wads of cables in 2070. But I am asking what exactly you are rolling. I am playing the Matrix very specifically by the RAW and for every fluff approach X you come up with, I can come up with fluff counter Y.

However, I'm happy with your approach. I'm sick of people telling me that it is trivial to hack any remote access solution because "encryption is crap." What you've done is taken a different approach that doesn't contradict what I've been saying. You're now using a physical break in and the installation of specific hardware. I feel this raises the level above "trivial" and has already taken you beyond just hacking.

The rules for Intercepting Traffic are on pg.224. You roll Hacking + Sniffer to determine the difficulty of your tap being detected. Now this only applies to hackers who are in the node that the data is traversing. There is no such device as you describe in the RAW, but we could take a similar approach. In this case, I think there would be a likely countermeasure - it's the traditional Shadowrun approach. Probably we have opposed device ratings between the Tap-O-Matic and the Spy-B-Gone. However, having the IC I mentioned on Node A routinely scan for taps would probably uncover the tap sooner or later. Assuming that the rules for intercepting by a device and by sitting in an intermediary node are the same (and I think that's reasonable), then you would still be needing to actually hack the node in order to interact in a meaningful way. You'll note that my original post did talk about the "looking over the user's shoulder at the monitor" approach, although not having gone so far as to break into the employee's house, I only discussed it under the subject of wireless connections.

So you would still need to hack the node in order to go rummaging through the system looking for juicy files, etc. Passive interception might be fine for phone calls, but it doesn't cut the IC when it comes to stealing paydata. It is useful, don't misunderstand me, but it's a poor substitute for actually logging in yourself. The spoofing you refer to is only good for sending instructions to drones or agents (SR4, pg.224). It wont be any use for actually getting you into the system or extracting data.

So really, I don't feel that this has contradicted what I said. I did address interception in my initial post and for most work, you need to actually hack the node. And this returns us to it being no more or less difficult than an onsite system that has a Matrix connection.
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
knasser
post Jul 12 2007, 06:38 PM
Post #17


Shadow Cartographer
*******

Group: Members
Posts: 3,737
Joined: 2-June 06
From: Secret Tunnels under the UK (South West)
Member No.: 8,636



QUOTE (James McMurray)
QUOTE (knasser @ Jul 12 2007, 12:39 PM)
Yes. You can make a system more secure by severing all connection to the outside world. Is this feasible? Normally, it isn't. The implications of going entirely offline are:
No phone calls in or out.
No sharing or passing data to another office.
No research on the Matrix.
No access to sales people in the team, your accountant, your lawyer, your clients.
No calling your partner to tell him to pick the kids up because you're working late.
Nothing.

This is not true: it's handled quite easily by modern secure rooms. You simply have all necessary connections going through an unconnected network. Everyone still does their work on their secured network with no outside connections, and they either roll their chair to another machine or flip their monitors to the other box on their desk when they need an outside connection.

With 2070 technologies you'd flip back and forth between two seperate connections to your AR goggles. VR bouncing back and forth would be harder, but when something has to be secured management rarely pays attention to wage slave amenities.


James, please read the paragraph after the one you just quoted. You'll find my answer to your comment already waiting there for you.
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
Moon-Hawk
post Jul 12 2007, 06:47 PM
Post #18


Genuine Artificial Intelligence
********

Group: Members
Posts: 4,019
Joined: 12-June 03
Member No.: 4,715



QUOTE (knasser)
There are a myriad of such examples - letters to lawyers, clients, contracts, writs, bank orders, tax returns, invoices, job offers, salary details, references, medical forms, delivery schedules, purchase orders, incoming letters, calls, messages, security information, work schedules, marketing data, sales figures. Any and all of this is potential paydata and none of it can be limited to a disconnected system.

Absolutely true. Which, IMO, is exactly why you don't use teams of shadowrunners to steal delivery schedules. That's the sort of thing your hacker gets as part of his legwork, because it is stored on an online system.
That's exactly why the top-secret MacGuffin that the runners have to steal is not one of those things, but rather something that doesn't need to be on an online system. The top-secret bleeding edge research can be done by people who haul their butts into work and sit in a room with two computers not connected to each other.
The people who process medical forms might have semi-secret data, but a good firewall is sufficient to protect it. It's not worth shadowrunning for.

Who cares if 99% of corporate information is stored inonline hosts, if that same 99% is boring and not worthy of shadowrunning for.

I'm trying to figure out what your point is here, but, I'm just not getting it. I must be having a slow day. :?
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
knasser
post Jul 12 2007, 06:55 PM
Post #19


Shadow Cartographer
*******

Group: Members
Posts: 3,737
Joined: 2-June 06
From: Secret Tunnels under the UK (South West)
Member No.: 8,636



QUOTE (Moon-Hawk @ Jul 12 2007, 06:47 PM)

That's exactly why the top-secret MacGuffin that the runners have to steal is not one of those things, but rather something that doesn't need to be on an online system.  The top-secret bleeding edge research can be done by people who haul their butts into work and sit in a room with two computers not connected to each other.
The people who process medical forms might have semi-secret data, but a good firewall is sufficient to protect it.  It's not worth shadowrunning for.

Who cares if 99% of corporate information is stored inonline hosts, if that same 99% is boring and not worthy of shadowrunning for.

I'm trying to figure out what your point is here, but, I'm just not getting it.  I must be having a slow day.  :?


And I agree with you. My point is that you don't change the whole working practices of the world for the 1% of remaining data that actually is a top-secret MacGuffin. I explicitly and quite clearly said that keeping things off-line is an approach that big hitters at secret research labs would use. I said that in the very first post on this subject. And if you want to force your hacker onto a site as a GM then you may well decide that the top secret MacGufffin is what the hacker is paid to steal. But the rest of the world is enjoying the benefits of 2070 technology, thankyouverymuch. ;) I'm not arguing against the existence of disconnected systems. I'm arguing with the people who keep telling me the idea of a remote access system is absurd and unworkable and will keep getting hacked by the kid next door. The only two things that I have argued, are that it is not less secure than an onsite system where there is a connection to the Matrix, and that a connection to the Matrix is vital for most systems. This seems to outrage some people.
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
Moon-Hawk
post Jul 12 2007, 07:04 PM
Post #20


Genuine Artificial Intelligence
********

Group: Members
Posts: 4,019
Joined: 12-June 03
Member No.: 4,715



QUOTE (knasser)
I'm not arguing against the existence of disconnected systems. I'm arguing with the people who keep telling me the idea of a remote access system is absurd and unworkable and will keep getting hacked by the kid next door. The only two things that I have argued, are that it is not less secure than an onsite system where there is a connection to the Matrix, and that a connection to the Matrix is vital for most systems. This seems to outrage some people.

Oooooooh, I see what you're saying now. I was completely missing your point, sorry.
I would agree that most stuff is not important enough to be behind a closed system. True, it might be hacked, and true, it would be bad, but not so bad that it's worth the trouble/money. I'll agree with you there.

So you're saying that the telecommuting system is not any less secure that the on-site system, provided said on-site has a matrix connection? Well, I don't know if it's 100% as secure, but I would agree that it's darn close. I mean, you could break into Joe Average Telecommuter's home and hit him with a brick (you'll forgive me if I don't include a detailed rundown of the rolls necessary ;-) ) while he's working and just start using his commlink and you've skipped having to log on.

As for the matrix being vital for most systems, I agree with that, too. But most systems are also boring and not worth shadowrunning for.
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
Ravor
post Jul 12 2007, 11:37 PM
Post #21


Cybernetic Blood Mage
******

Group: Members
Posts: 3,472
Joined: 11-March 06
From: Northeastern Wyoming
Member No.: 8,361



QUOTE (knasser)
Yes. And I remember that my post there asking for actual details on how someone would hack my remote office under the RAW remains unanswered. You will notice, that I very explicitly stated in the post you've just replied to, that the remote solution is as secure as an onsite one that has a connection to the outside. So please don't say that I am "forgetting something very important" when if you scroll up about three inches you will find me talking about that very thing.


And theres the rub, with encryption being a joke, only a moron would keep sensitive data on a system that has a constant Matrix connection.

QUOTE (knasser)
Yes. You can make a system more secure by severing all connection to the outside world. Is this feasible? Normally, it isn't. The implications of going entirely offline are:
No phone calls in or out.
No sharing or passing data to another office.
No research on the Matrix.
No access to sales people in the team, your accountant, your lawyer, your clients.
No calling your partner to tell him to pick the kids up because you're working late.
Nothing.


QUOTE (knasser)
Now I did use the word "normally" here. (I also covered this in the post you replied to before you raised it). Maybe Saeder-Krupp's research labs keep their valuable data on a system that isn't connected to the rest of the world. It can only be read by someone who plugs his head into the mainframe onsite. This is what I said! But most places cannot work this way. Data needs to be shared and that doesn't happen by the accounts manager plugging her head into one box. Copying some files across and then plugging her head into another box so that she can transmit some payroll data to the bank. And then getting bank responses into her head and going back again. Repeat and repeat and repeat all day. There are a myriad of such examples - letters to lawyers, clients, contracts, writs, bank orders, tax returns, invoices, job offers, salary details, references, medical forms, delivery schedules, purchase orders, incoming letters, calls, messages, security information, work schedules, marketing data, sales figures. Any and all of this is potential paydata and none of it can be limited to a disconnected system.


Yep, it's really too bad that all of the above are easily handled by two very simple fixes which I had already addressed;

( 1 ) Install a second system that has a consant Matrix connection to handle the things that needs one in order to work, like wageslave telephone calls ect...

( 2 ) When necessary connect your offline system briefly to the Matrix and then have an auto disconnect built into the system so some wageslave can't forget to turn it back off when he's done using it.

QUOTE (knasser)
You (Ravor) live in a world in which the only corporations are giant, monoliths that think nothing of adding 150% onto the cost of employee upkeep by dragging them in twenty miles each day and where the only data they ever work on is the top secret blue prints to the top secret optical chip that was developed entirely in one lab without the sharing of data with other labs or researchers. It might be an exciting world, but it's not a realistic one.


Close, but no cigar. :smokin:

However in the Sixth World most corps worth running against aren't run by idiots who haven't a faintest clue how to protect their data from every Decker that happens to be surfing the web at any given moment. They are however run by a bunch of amoral bastards who don't have to worry about little things like labor laws and unions. Quite frankly they don't care whether or not Joe Wageslave has to wake up at 04:30 in order to commute three hours one way, they aren't going to pay more and in most cases he can't afford to quit even IF he legally can.

QUOTE (knasser)
And finally, I once again hear you say thatweak encryption means it is "trivial" to break into the remote solution. Here is my specific question to you. No generalities, no unsupported statements that it's not secure because of "X" - tell me what you would roll to hack the site I gave above, where the employee at home has a wired connection to his home terminal. Because I was only illustrating a principle above and skimped on detail, consider there to be some IC on both nodes also. What you come up with will be no different to trying to hack a normal onsite solution that has a connection to the outside world.


You're right, and that is why any corp that isn't run by morons will install an offline (most of the time) system as soon as they can afford it.

QUOTE (knasser)
I'm arguing with the people who keep telling me the idea of a remote access system is absurd and unworkable and will keep getting hacked by the kid next door. The only two things that I have argued, are that it is not less secure than an onsite system where there is a connection to the Matrix, and that a connection to the Matrix is vital for most systems. This seems to outrage some people.


And if those were the only two points you've argued I might be able to agree with you, the trouble is that you've argued a third which is that a system which is only connected to the Matrix as needed coupled with one that has a full time connection wouldn't allow an office to run.
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
Fortune
post Jul 13 2007, 12:48 AM
Post #22


Immoral Elf
**********

Group: Members
Posts: 15,247
Joined: 29-March 02
From: Grimy Pete's Bar & Laundromat
Member No.: 2,486



QUOTE (Ravor)
... you've argued a third which is that a system which is only connected to the Matrix as needed coupled with one that has a full time connection wouldn't allow an office to run.

... efficiently.
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
knasser
post Jul 13 2007, 01:04 AM
Post #23


Shadow Cartographer
*******

Group: Members
Posts: 3,737
Joined: 2-June 06
From: Secret Tunnels under the UK (South West)
Member No.: 8,636




Lots of use of the word "moron" and (again) statements about how easy it is to hack any system that is connected to the Matrix, but still not answering the very simple question of what you would roll to hack the site.

I don't find your suggestion that the external Matrix connection gets turned on and off all day realistic to deal with
QUOTE
There are a myriad of such examples - letters to lawyers, clients, contracts, writs, bank orders, tax returns, invoices, job offers, salary details, references, medical forms, delivery schedules, purchase orders, incoming letters, calls, messages, security information, work schedules, marketing data, sales figures


And I can add a few more just to round the list out: offices with multiple sites, those that share data with customers, those with customers who share data with them, companies that offer support, need support, need to process orders and check specifications with salespeople, engineers and managers out in the field, those that have a head office, those with sub-offices, sister companies, hosting virtual meetings with any of the staff.

QUOTE (Ravor)
Quite frankly they don't care whether or not Joe Wageslave has to wake up at 04:30 in order to commute three hours one way, they aren't going to pay more and in most cases he can't afford to quit even IF he legally can.


I, in real life, do not want my staff to turn up having been travelling since 04:30 in the morning and then getting back at 20:30 at night everyday. Even if I were a heartless monster, I'm not going to be an idiot and think that I'll get decent work out of them or that they'll survive the job more than a couple of months.

But I can already see where this is going. It's going to be another of those threads where you keep saying wageslave and putting slave in bold, whilst insisting that every thing that negatively impacts on employee welfare is countermanded by brainwashing employees and pumping them full of happy drugs. Which of course neglects the fact that if you could do that it would be more efficient to get the extra six hours of work out of them rather than travel, but that's another point.

I think we can all see that sealing off your office from the rest of the electronic world has massive negative effects. And I think most of us can see that for the vast majority of companies in the world, going to such drastic and costly lengths is counterproductive. The offline labs and NSA datastores, are going to be rare exceptions. You however, live in a world where every company is managed by clones of Hitler and researches top secret super-processors all day long. The rest of us however, play in a setting where an accountant can actually file a tax return.

The rules as written provide adequate security to guard most companies even though they have a Matrix connection. I can illustrate such a system if you wish.
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
kzt
post Jul 13 2007, 05:51 AM
Post #24


Great Dragon
*********

Group: Members
Posts: 5,537
Joined: 27-August 06
From: Albuquerque NM
Member No.: 9,234



QUOTE (knasser)
The rules as written provide adequate security to guard most companies even though they have a Matrix connection. I can illustrate such a system if you wish.

Please do. I'd like to see how you can do this without the ability to use cryptography.
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
Ravor
post Jul 13 2007, 06:46 AM
Post #25


Cybernetic Blood Mage
******

Group: Members
Posts: 3,472
Joined: 11-March 06
From: Northeastern Wyoming
Member No.: 8,361



QUOTE (knasser)
Lots of use of the word "moron" and (again) statements about how easy it is to hack any system that is connected to the Matrix, but still not answering the very simple question of what you would roll to hack the site.


You're kidding right? In the examples you've given a Decker would roll the exact same tests as she would in order to hack any node, the only real question is whether or not she'd have to take control of the wageslave's jackpoint first even if the "VPN" setup was using hardwired connections.

QUOTE (knasser)
don't find your suggestion that the external Matrix connection gets turned on and off all day realistic to deal with

QUOTE
There are a myriad of such examples - letters to lawyers, clients, contracts, writs, bank orders, tax returns, invoices, job offers, salary details, references, medical forms, delivery schedules, purchase orders, incoming letters, calls, messages, security information, work schedules, marketing data, sales figures


And I can add a few more just to round the list out: offices with multiple sites, those that share data with customers, those with customers who share data with them, companies that offer support, need support, need to process orders and check specifications with salespeople, engineers and managers out in the field, those that have a head office, those with sub-offices, sister companies, hosting virtual meetings with any of the staff.


Do you remember the days before full-time broadband internet connections? I do, and simply connecting as needed is enough to handle most of your examples, with a second network designed to provide a full time connection picking up the slack where the first, more secure network can't.

QUOTE (knasser)
I, in real life, do not want my staff to turn up having been travelling since 04:30 in the morning and then getting back at 20:30 at night everyday. Even if I were a heartless monster, I'm not going to be an idiot and think that I'll get decent work out of them or that they'll survive the job more than a couple of months.

But I can already see where this is going. It's going to be another of those threads where you keep saying wageslave and putting slave in bold, whilst insisting that every thing that negatively impacts on employee welfare is countermanded by brainwashing employees and pumping them full of happy drugs. Which of course neglects the fact that if you could do that it would be more efficient to get the extra six hours of work out of them rather than travel, but that's another point.


*shrugs* Remember that this is the same world where corps think so highly of their employees that they are more then willing to implant bombs in their heads and threaten their families in order to ensure continued good behavior. And we can't forget the fact that it's a Canon fact that yes the corps do ship their employees off to be used as human test subjects, it's even stated as one of the punishments AA+ Corps dish out to their wageslaves caught breaking one of the corp's laws.

As for the extra six hours of work, sure, in fact I'm fairly sure that is one of the reasons that the larger corps tend to "encourage" as many of their wageslaves as possible to live in corp housing as opposed to living outside of their direct control.

QUOTE (knasser)
I think we can all see that sealing off your office from the rest of the electronic world has massive negative effects. And I think most of us can see that for the vast majority of companies in the world, going to such drastic and costly lengths is counterproductive. The offline labs and NSA datastores, are going to be rare exceptions. You however, live in a world where every company is managed by clones of Hitler and researches top secret super-processors all day long. The rest of us however, play in a setting where an accountant can actually file a tax return.


Hyperbole much? Try actually arguing against something that I've said as opposed to your own little vision of what you'd like me to have said.

QUOTE (knasser)
The rules as written provide adequate security to guard most companies even though they have a Matrix connection. I can illustrate such a system if you wish.


I'm with kzt on this one, yes please do illustrate such a system. Remember that you are competing against what real world encryption can provide.
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post

3 Pages V   1 2 3 >
Reply to this topicStart new topic

 



RSS Lo-Fi Version Time is now: 23rd April 2026 - 08:42 AM

Topps, Inc has sole ownership of the names, logo, artwork, marks, photographs, sounds, audio, video and/or any proprietary material used in connection with the game Shadowrun. Topps, Inc has granted permission to the Dumpshock Forums to use such names, logos, artwork, marks and/or any proprietary materials for promotional and informational purposes on its website but does not endorse, and is not affiliated with the Dumpshock Forums in any official capacity whatsoever.