We all remember that game-changing personal hardware proxy device that guaranteed to provide you with Anonymous access to the Wi-Fi located up to 2.5 miles away from the actual location.
The complete source code, blueprint as well as the detailed hardware specifications was planned to be unveiled during the Def Con Hacker Conference in the coming month. But now it seems like this device is not going to be revealed, and the whole project has been cancelled due to some mysterious conditions.
The gadget named ProxyHam was a hardware proxy, based on Raspberry Pi computer, consist of two separate devices with a capability to broadcast data at a frequency of 900MHz. This device can be freely positioned anywhere where there is an internet connection and then it can be operated by the user. Connecting to the internet through this device will let the user remain undiscoverable by the spies.
The inventor of this device is Benjamin Caudill, who is also the founder and the Principal Consultant of Rhino Security Labs. He said that ProxyHam is usable for both, good and bad users. But we know there is a possibility that this device could be used by criminals to hide from the law enforcement agencies.
The Rhino Security Labs tweeted, “Effective immediately, we are halting further dev on and will not be releasing any further details or source for the device”
And then in the next tweet, the security firm said: “Existing units will be disposed of and no longer be made available at ”
We will also be immediately cancelling the @caudillbenjamin talk at @_defcon_ on #proxyham and #whistleblower #anonymity
— Rhino Security Labs (@RhinoSecurity) July 10, 2015
@info_dox sorry, cannot make anything open source or publicly available. Can't go into further details as to the cancellation
— Rhino Security Labs (@RhinoSecurity) July 11, 2015
We have already seen some discussions which were planned to happen at Def Con but then later they get cancelled. So this is not the first one and will not be the last too!
What’s the mystery behind cancellation?
According to the early speculations, there wasn’t any FCC license for the ProxyHam and using this device would violate FCC rules, so this could be the reason. But then Caudill, while disagreeing to the statements, told CSO Online that the launching of this proxy gadget was not cancelled due to the FCC intrusion.
“Proxyham devices did not break the FCC standards as the 900MHz antennas were capped at the 1-watt limit.” – Benjamin Caudill, while speaking with CSO Online.
There’s another possibility of this sudden cancellation i.e. intrusion by the government. Maybe that is the reason why Caudill is not discussing the reason behind this halt. Even though the security firm was “excited” to unveil ProxyHam at Def Con.
Steve Ragan of CSO Online said:
“It would look as if a higher power – namely the U.S. Government – has put their foot down and killed this talk It isn’t perfect, but a tool like ProxyHam – when combined with Tor or other VPN services, would be powerful.”
This news is going to be really disappointing for all those attendees of Def Con conference who were looking forward to seeing this gadget in action!
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