Collaborate Disseminate
They’re actually Arris routers, sold or given away by AT&T. There are several security vulnerabilities, some of them very serious. They can be fixed, but because these are routers it takes some skill. We don’t know how many routers are affected, and estimates range from thousands to 138,000. Among the vulnerabilities are hardcoded credentials, which can allow "root" remote access… Continue reading Security Vulnerabilities in AT&T Routers
We have no idea how bad this really is: On 30 August, an international team of researchers informed the Estonian Information System Authority (RIA) of a vulnerability potentially affecting the digital use of Estonian ID cards. The possible vulnerability affects a total of almost 750,000 ID-cards issued starting from October 2014, including cards issued to e-residents. The ID-cards issued before… Continue reading Security Flaw in Estonian National ID Card
Last week, DefCon hosted a "Voter Hacker Village" event. Every single voting machine there was easily hackable. Here are detailed details. There should be a summary report soon; I’ll add it to this post when it’s published…. Continue reading Voting Machine Security
Good commentaries from Ed Felten and Matt Blaze. Both make a point that I have also been saying: hacks can undermine the legitimacy of an election, even if there is no actual voter or vote manipulation. Felten: The second lesson is that we should be paying more attention to attacks that aim to undermine the legitimacy of an election rather… Continue reading Commentary on US Election Security
This is nice work: "The Password Reset MitM Attack," by Nethanel Gelerntor, Senia Kalma, Bar Magnezi, and Hen Porcilan: Abstract: We present the password reset MitM (PRMitM) attack and show how it can be used to take over user accounts. The PRMitM attack exploits the similarity of the registration and password reset processes to launch a man in the middle… Continue reading A Man-in-the-Middle Attack against a Password Reset System
In a proposed rule by the FAA, it argues that software in an Embraer S.A. Model ERJ 190-300 airplane is secure because it’s proprietary: In addition, the operating systems for current airplane systems are usually and historically proprietary. Therefore, they are not as susceptible to corruption from worms, viruses, and other malicious actions as are more-widely used commercial operating systems,… Continue reading The FAA Is Arguing for Security by Obscurity
Ross Anderson blogged about his new paper on security and safety concerns about the Internet of Things. (See also this short video.) It’s very much along the lines of what I’ve been writing…. Continue reading Safety and Security and the Internet of Things
As devastating as the latest widespread ransomware attacks have been, it’s a problem with a solution. If your copy of Windows is relatively current and you’ve kept it updated, your laptop is immune. It’s only older unpatched systems on your computer that are vulnerable. Patching is how the computer industry maintains security in the face of rampant Internet insecurity. Microsoft,… Continue reading Ransomware and the Internet of Things
Technology can do a lot more to make our elections more secure and reliable, and to ensure that participation in the democratic process is available to all. There are three parts to this process. First, the voter registration process can be improved. The whole process can be streamlined. People should be able to register online, just as they can register… Continue reading Securing Elections
This is a good summary article about the horrible security of St. Jude pacemakers, and the history of the company not doing anything about it…. Continue reading Security of St. Jude Pacemakers