OPSEC is the process and practice of Operations Security. Although it has roots in the military, OPSEC can be applied to any venture requiring secrecy and survival, from business security to personal safety. OPSEC is a mindset of critical thinking and safe habits. Read the sidebar below for more information!
Using used laptop: risk?
I have just bought a laptop from a private person. I want to use it for installing my cryptocurrency wallets and operating them. As my money is on it, I thought it might be a risk that the person who sold it to me could have infected the laptop with something.
(If I would be hacked my life would be over)
For this reason, I have factory reset it and installed a new OS (Qubes + Whonix). Is there still a risk, or is it the same as I would have bought it in a store?
I have read the rules
From my knowledge, unless the laptop's firmware/BIOS or actual hardware has been altered, you should be fine.
If I was that concerned about being hacked, I would thoroughly check both the firmware/BIOS and physical hardware for signs of modification. If the firmware/BIOS is available from the manufacturer online, I would probably attempt to re-install/flash, as an attempt to remove any sort of software modifications.
Thank you! Can you be a little more specific though, regarding checking for signs of modification? I'm not that familiar with IT.
However, I could re-install my BIOS if that helps. But I have seen nothing unusual (but as I said, I'm not an expert).
(If I would be hacked my life would be over)
If it's that important keep it fully isolated from the internet. Never connect it to a network.
We should probably point out that „cryptocurrency“ and „my life would be over“ in the same sentence is a bigger opsec-fail than you every could do with the laptop.
Yes - many people are balls deep into it, but at the end of the day it’s not far from gambling.
One major bug in the Blockchain, another -80% dip or whatever else… you should probably de-risk your portfolio
But the "I invested everything in crypto and lost it" headlines make me giggle.
I’d say you’re safe…
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Viruses residing on firmware is possible, but unlikely, you can always flash it if you are concerned, plus you never know, the firmware on the device might be out of date, flashing could enable new features.
I agree with discarding any usb dongles, keyboards, etc. that came with the computer, as its easier to mod these things to add malware. Also I'd replace the hard drive, get a nice new SSD. Again viruses in the firmware or MBR of hard drives is rare, so its not necessary to get a new one, but its a cheap investment.
