m o b i l e h a c k i n g p a r t d e u x .
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:
o costuming
o camouflage
o equipment
o background
o 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.
o Surveillance
o Gathering
o Mobile light weight, hit and run
o 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 o ut.
(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
sy stem. 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 Perefered, 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
------------------------------------------------------------