Vanic Radiation/tempest monitoring

Shrykull · Post by **Shrykull** » 2008-09-14 06:50pm

Does anyone know anything more about it?

Just in case you aren't familiar with it, your computer gives off something called Vanic radiation which someone could use to see what you are doing on your screen, unless your computer is shielded from it (e.g- putting up a tent around it that stops it) I saw it on an episode of some documentary on the science channel.

But this link is all I can find on it

http://www.derkeiler.com/Newsgroups/alt ... /0510.html

http://www.surasoft.com/articles/tempest.php

Gives me some information at least.

Ender · Post by **Ender** » 2008-09-14 07:56pm

I've heard of it as Van Eck radiation, never as Vanic. Yes it exists, it is a result of the electrons being moved around in your screen. Accelerate an electron within a magnetic field and it emits a photon as a result. Nothing new there. But on the scale we are talking it is very small and as a result the emissions are very very weak. Yes, you could probably build something to detect it, but you'd have to be pretty close to use it and even then all you would get is what was on the screen, not what was actually on the drive. So since you'd have to be so close to use this, you might as well just get a little closer and access the drive directly - it would be easier to accomplish and you would get more out of it.

And no, a tent isn't going to work. Cloth tends to not work real well as EM shielding material.

Sarevok · Post by **Sarevok** » 2008-09-14 10:07pm

Question is can your typical malicious hacker build such a thing.

If it is so advanced that only the government can construct such a spying device I would not worry about installing tin foil firewalls.

Crayz9000 · Post by **Crayz9000** » 2008-09-14 10:10pm

Van Eck radiation actually is more of a moot point now than ever before. At the time the principle was first noticed, in the late 1980s, the only monitors present were CRTs. CRTs, of course, are giant cathode ray tubes, which function by shooting highly energetic beams of electrons against a phosphor coating on a leaded glass screen.

With a sensitive enough system, the people who discovered this principle were able to replicate the screen of one of the trade show exhibitors' displays while they had their equipment cart a few aisles away.

Having said that, LCDs do not emit anywhere near as powerful emissions due to the fact that they don't have a giant electron gun inside them.

Shrykull · Post by **Shrykull** » 2008-09-16 12:52am

I've heard of it as Van Eck radiation, never as Vanic.

Ah, that's why I couldn't find it! Thanks. A similar problem occured when I tried to look up strychnine. I never saw it spelled out, and was thinking it was spelled "stricknine."

And no, a tent isn't going to work. Cloth tends to not work real well as EM shielding material.

I didn't mean a cloth tent, I mean one that keeps the EM in, just as you suggested and away from prying eyes, or in this case antennas.

Shrykull · Post by **Shrykull** » 2008-09-16 12:56am

With a sensitive enough system, the people who discovered this principle were able to replicate the screen of one of the trade show exh
ibitors' displays while they had their equipment cart a few aisles away.

I'm guessing this is the same thing I saw once. My cousin was playing a game in the other room and we could see the outline of the game on the tv we were watching. Of course, that may be a little different, in this case we were using the same power lines in the house, and both tv's were plugged into the wall.