I came across a short article in last month’s (IN)SECURE magazine about a USB based firewall. If you have never read (IN)SECURE, it’s a very informative PDF based security magazine available for free. It mentions a USB based, Linux powered firewall and IDS solution for laptops called the Yoggie Firestick Pico. It promises to be a mini-computer that provides a physical barrier between your laptop and the Internet. When I initially read this I assumed it must provide some sort of network connection, maybe wired or wireless. However looking at the website this does not seem to be the case.
The idea is very interesting, but I find it hard to understand how it can provide a “physical” barrier without it sitting between the network connection and the laptop. As far as I can tell it must redirect all network access through the USB port and the Linux OS before going out through the laptops network connection. This doesn’t sound like a physical barrier to me if software on the laptop is doing the redirection.
The device has picked up numerous awards including ”Best of Innovations 2008 - Computer Accessories” at CES 2008, and I admit that the idea is fascinating. But surely it needs to provide a built-in wired or wireless connection to provide the physical barrier it promises or have I missed something?
