Black baggers generally have to get in and out quickly with incomplete
knowledge of your situation. Doing a thorough reverse-engineer of you
location is usually not an option for them.
Physical security. Litter the area with cameras, possibly in several
mutually independent networks. It is impossible to get physical access to
the computer without being seen. Don't forget battery backups.
A hardware keyboard logger is sometimes a friend, especially if built
right onto the motherboard.
The computer's case can be welded-shut, preventing easy access to the
disks and slowing down the adversaries.
Another measure could be a computer sniffing and logging all communication
to/from the computer over the LAN, into a circular buffer, allowing
forensic analysis of any communication that was potentially improper. This
serves as security camera guarding the network access.
Similarly, the kernel on the protected machine itself can log accesses to
certain parts of filesystems or physical block devices, and prevent
loading of modules that aren't cryptographically signed.
...of course, a shotgun as an active defensive device has its certain
appeal. However, there are usually more blackbaggers than one, and
computer aiming could be unreliable against fast-moving panicking targets,
so a nerve gas should be considered an option. (If you aren't in a killing
mood, a tear gas could do its job too. A device that would pierce a spray
can with a self-defense paralyzer, quickly dispersing it in the room,
could theoretically work nicely too.) A good area denial device could
MAYBE be a device made from teflon and magnesium strips; teflon pyrolysis
products are reportedly pretty toxic; but I am just wildly speculating
here and inviting discussion about the weak sides of my ideas.
The shotgun could also serve as a quick data destruction device; imagine
what a swarm of fast-flying steel balls can do with disk plates spinning
on 10,000 rpm. If the impact primer will be replaced with electrically
controlled one, even better - the system then has no moving parts and gets
inherently more reliable and maintenance-free. The barrel could be
improvised from a piece of a steel pipe, with a suitable length to allow
the payload from the shells to reach suitable velocity to shred the
plates, attached on the disk over its top side which is usually fairly
thin aluminum. If anyone would be willing to test the idea on some
discarded drives (*wink, Tim*) I would be happy to know the results. Would
Lead Wipe be a suitable name for this technology?
