ToorCamp 2022

Circuit-switched retro-networking with FPGAs and softmodems
07-15, 13:00–13:50 (US/Pacific), Prime Dome

It is becoming increasingly harder to interconnect modern systems with old circuit-switched technologies, such as TDM/T1 trunk lines, ISDN, etc. Additionally, there are also a number of interesting older technologies that rely on telephone modems. To deploy new projects based on these technologies, we need a way to both interface with old circuit-switched phone systems and create virtual modem banks to support new services. This talk will introduce Tedium, an FPGA-based T1 interface that exposes up to 192 phone lines as USB audio devices, as well as our efforts to interface old softmodem drivers with this new hardware, allowing us to deploy and scale novel dial-up-based services at camp.

Karl Koscher (supersat) is a technology and security generalist with an emphasis on wireless and embedded systems security. As part of his dissertation work at the University of Washington, he and his collaborators were the first to demonstrate a complete remote compromise of a car over cellular, Bluetooth and other channels. He one of the Shadytel co-conspirators, heading up the Shadytel Labs subsidiary, where we are constantly seeking out new revenue opportunities through novel applications of antiquated technology.

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