I 100% know my phone is hacked deeply. If I take the SIM card (which has APN restrictions) from this phone, put it into my NW750 and USB it to the hacked phone, to set up the NW750, am I exposing the NW750 to be immediately compromised if I use the manual SIM card set up? The phone will have to be hooked up the NW750 for the set up?
I was wondering how strong the internal NW750 VPN is and if it would automatically shield the NW750 from the hacked phone.
WiFi and BT will not be connected on the phone, mind you they could super spam my radio from a nearby room.
Taking your concerns seriously, there can only be the answer that the setup of any equipment can only be done in a known clean environment. The Nitrowall 750 hardware is not meant or effective to isolate from compromised devices.
All your actions should be based on your risk assessment and logical conclusions. If the risk of using compromised hardware outweighs the cost of replacing it, think about letting it go.
In the grand scheme of things, it is unlikely for regular people to get hacked that deeply. A lateral movement requires a sophisticated attack. More common would be phishing and cloning of SIM cards used for multi-factor authentication. Swapping a regular SIM into another device might not hack it but helps to link the device to a user via IMSI. Connecting devices through USB could theoretically allow an exploit to take control of the router. It is a Linux firmware. However, tethering primarily uses NAT networking and would require an exploit in the IP stack.
Assuming a compromised device, it is more likely, someone runs a keylogger and uses a shell/web connection via network from the phone to the router using the credentials you provided. But again, this would be an unlikely targeted attack. Most attacks are opportunistic.
Hi and thank you for your serious consideration. I am in need of internet security because I am targeted. It is real. And I am finding it very difficult to shield my phone and computers from these people.
I have let go of many devices in the past and now I have a new computer and want to keep it shielded. Unfortunately, I cannot guarantee that someone has entered my apartment and infected my new computer.
I thought the IMSI of this NW750 was hidden. I am using W11P and android. I am not certain how to escape the phone and email hacks but with the new computer I am hoping the NW750 will keep it hidden.
I want to keep my identity hidden, and it sounds like whatever SIM card I get, I won’t be able to programme it to hide if you say the SIM gives my identity away.
I am not an expert here. A router/cell phone/SIM has more identification details than the IMEI. And changing the IMEI is not allowed in a lot of countries. Using the SIM in multiple devices most certainly allows a provider to associate it with device IDs of phones and eventually tracking or leaking your identity. Changing or random hardware IDs can help protect against IMSI catchers, rogue access points operated by hackers or tracking in retail, though.
So then the best place to start the set up is with one of your degoogled phones and a different SIM card. Can I use a sim that’s not associated anymore with a telecom, like bring it back to life? So if there’s an IMSI catcher in an apartment beside me, then I’m still safe with your phone
Not my field of expertise. What works for one, might not fit your threat model.
I care about keeping corporate environments secure and what might be prudent to use as a baseline. For my needs, any standard hardware from any retailer is just fine, and I don’t need to consider anything beyond that.
Maybe you should consider a local consulting, that factors in your requirements what you want to achieve and to align it with the local jurisdiction and circumstances. There are organizations that e.g. protect reporters and publish also books on that topic.
A new Nitrophone is a secure booted device with an Android that reduces the attack surface. Also you can verify its supply chain to Nitrokey, a trustworthy, German company. So it would be usable for initial setup. But it could also be that you just need to buy a regular notebook and boot a Linux iso to configure the Nitrowall from a known clean system.
Adding a SIM adds a lot to the complexity. Maybe your use case would also work with just WiFi? Only you know what will work best for your situation.
I appreciate your responses. There has been an opportunity for the attacker to have access to both of the 2 keys and my computer. I am purchased out; I cannot afford to be buying $5000 workstations every month.
I will need to have my computer BIOS checked but it is very difficult for me to trust anyone because this is a small city, and they are all related it seems. The home security guy has been corruptible as I’m sure the computer guy coming here.
I hope I can get the BIOS installed again properly without incident if my BIOS now is corrupt.
