Security Flaws in Children’s Smart Watches

A year ago, the Norwegian Consumer Council published an excellent security analysis of children’s GPS-connected smart watches. The security was terrible. Not only could parents track the children, anyone else could also track the children. A recent analysis checked if anything had improved after that torrent of bad press. Short answer: no. Guess what: a train wreck. Anyone could access… Continue reading Security Flaws in Children’s Smart Watches

Security Analysis of the LIFX Smart Light Bulb

The security is terrible: In a very short limited amount of time, three vulnerabilities have been discovered: Wifi credentials of the user have been recovered (stored in plaintext into the flash memory). No security settings. The device is completely open (no secure boot, no debug interface disabled, no flash encryption). Root certificate and RSA private key have been extracted. Boing… Continue reading Security Analysis of the LIFX Smart Light Bulb

Japanese Government Will Hack Citizens’ IoT Devices

The Japanese government is going to run penetration tests against all the IoT devices in their country, in an effort to (1) figure out what’s insecure, and (2) help consumers secure them: The survey is scheduled to kick off next month, when authorities… Continue reading Japanese Government Will Hack Citizens’ IoT Devices

Japanese Government Will Hack Citizens’ IoT Devices

The Japanese government is going to run penetration tests against all the IoT devices in their country, in an effort to (1) figure out what’s insecure, and (2) help consumers secure them: The survey is scheduled to kick off next month, when authorities plan to test the password security of over 200 million IoT devices, beginning with routers and web… Continue reading Japanese Government Will Hack Citizens’ IoT Devices

Hacking Construction Cranes

Construction cranes are vulnerable to hacking: In our research and vulnerability discoveries, we found that weaknesses in the controllers can be (easily) taken advantage of to move full-sized machines such as cranes used in construction sites and factories. In the different attack classes that we’ve outlined, we were able to perform the attacks quickly and even switch on the controlled… Continue reading Hacking Construction Cranes

Why Internet Security Is So Bad

I recently read two different essays that make the point that while Internet security is terrible, it really doesn’t affect people enough to make it an issue. This is true, and is something I worry will change in a world of physically capable computers. Automation, autonomy, and physical agency will make computer security a matter of life and death, and… Continue reading Why Internet Security Is So Bad

New IoT Security Regulations

Due to ever-evolving technological advances, manufacturers are connecting consumer goods­ — from toys to light bulbs to major appliances­ — to the Internet at breakneck speeds. This is the Internet of Things, and it’s a security nightmare. The Internet of Things fuses products with communications technology to make daily life more effortless. Think Amazon’s Alexa, which not only answers questions… Continue reading New IoT Security Regulations

Consumer Reports Reviews Wireless Home-Security Cameras

Consumer Reports is starting to evaluate the security of IoT devices. As part of that, it’s reviewing wireless home-security cameras. It found significant security vulnerabilities in D-Link cameras: In contrast, D-Link doesn’t store video from the DCS-… Continue reading Consumer Reports Reviews Wireless Home-Security Cameras

Consumer Reports Reviews Wireless Home-Security Cameras

Consumer Reports is starting to evaluate the security of IoT devices. As part of that, it’s reviewing wireless home-security cameras. It found significant security vulnerabilities in D-Link cameras: In contrast, D-Link doesn’t store video from the DCS-2630L in the cloud. Instead, the camera has its own, onboard web server, which can deliver video to the user in different ways. Users… Continue reading Consumer Reports Reviews Wireless Home-Security Cameras

Security Vulnerability in Internet-Connected Construction Cranes

This seems bad: The F25 software was found to contain a capture replay vulnerability — basically an attacker would be able to eavesdrop on radio transmissions between the crane and the controller, and then send their own spoofed commands over the air to seize control of the crane. "These devices use fixed codes that are reproducible by sniffing and re-transmission,"… Continue reading Security Vulnerability in Internet-Connected Construction Cranes