What is RF data loss? RF stands for radio frequency, and RF data loss is a concern wherever wireless technology is used. WiFi networks, Bluetooth technology, and cell phones all use radio waves to transmit data. Those radio waves travel through open air, which is fine provided that the only people in range of the RF signal are those who should have access to it. However, if you’ve ever stayed in a city hotel, or lived in a city apartment building, or worked in an office park, a quick scan of local networks on your smartphone will produce 10-20 networks surrounding any particular location in the building at any given time. Even a typical suburban home will have at least two or three networks bouncing around its walls — a quick check of my own smartphone as I type this actually came up with five nearby here in suburbia!
So how does data become vulnerable via RF networks? Cyber criminals have ways of getting around the passwords required to enter most
networks. Many people still have passwords that are easily guessed, and cyber criminals use sophisticated software that can run through thousands of passwords in minutes. They will simply find a place nearby their target to work inconspicuously, or will even do so from a car, a technique so common as to have become a term in itself — “wardriving.” Wardriving is the process of driving through neighborhoods looking for networks to hack, and has even given way to “warbiking” and “warwalking.” Essentially, in today’s highly connected and increasingly wireless world, data theft is a huge and growing problem — the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) reports an average of nearly 300,000 complaints a year over the past five years and estimates that only 15% of victims actually report the crimes.
In order to combat remote RF data capture, Signals Defense has developed patented window film technology to block cyber criminals attempting to gain access to your wireless networks. These films can be applied to windows in your office/home to prevent your signals from getting out and cyber criminals’ signals seeking access from getting in. The films were originally designed to guard against TEMPEST, an NSA term for spying on information systems via leaked or unintentional radio emissions, electrical signals, or even sounds and vibrations. The NSA techniques used in such spying are classified, but Signals Defense’s technology was engineered to meet the very high standards of TEMPEST defense; the added benefit of preventing RF data loss was discovered in the process. For protection against RF data loss and electronic eavesdropping, contact Signals Defense.