From: Jeff Gostin <jgostin@eternal.pha.pa.us>
Date: Sun, 3 Jul 94 14:56:12 PDT
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: (None)
Message-ID: <940703160818T8mjgostin@eternal.pha.pa.us>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


bmorris@netcom.com (Bob MorrisG) writes:

> I've heard rumors through the years that CIA/NSA/whoever can aim a
> parabolic antenna at your window, read the electronic pulses surrounding
> your computer, and thusly determine what you are typing.  Is there any
> truth to this?
     If this is a reference to the TEMPEST attack, yes, they can. From
what I hear, it's trivially easy for them to do, because they have The
Right Equipment. Rumor also suggests that that The Right Equipment isn't
so difficult to come by. I don't pretend to understand the intricacies of
TEMPEST, but I do know that the government requires all of their computers
(used at any level of security above none) to be TEMPEST shielded. This
tells us its a real concern.

     There are other ways to beat TEMPEST, like making it damn near
impossible to get close enough to the computer in question to get a
reading.

                                        --Jeff
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