Displaying items by tag: DEF CON 22

Before DEF CON 22 started we published an article that the EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) was going to host a very interesting competition called SOHOplessly broken. This competition was to features a large array of common SOHO (small office home office) routers and put them to the security test. As you might imagine the competition revealed that security is not the primary focus of this segment of the market. In all a total of 15 zero day vulnerabilities were uncovered during the competition in four common routers.

DEF CON 22, Las Vegas, NV 2014 – If you have ever stayed in a top end hotel you might find an iPad or similar tablet that allows you to control various functions of the room. This is becoming a more and more common practice in hotels where the guest experience is being moved from the phone or standard TV to movable and WiFi enabled devices. The problem is that there are potential flaws in the system that could allow someone to compromise the system and take control of multiple systems in the room.

DEF CON 22, Las Vegas, NV 2014 - Over the past year or so there have been several discoveries in the aviation industry that have had security researchers and regular people very concerned. We have covered a couple of these that have hit including a claim that a plane can be attacked through its inflight WiFi system and also a very recent one that claims to have found hard coded root credentials in the firmware of some satellite communication equipment. The aviation industry has been quick to refute these claims (and with good reason), but the question still persists: are air craft vulnerable to remote hacking?

DEF CON 22, Las Vegas, NV 2014 - The idea that individual devices can monitor and control many aspects of our lives is an exciting one. Right now you can pick up inexpensive products that can allow you to keep an eye on everything from your house to the temperature of your eggs. Of course this mass growth of interconnected devices is also a big concern for people looking out for security.

DEF CON 22, Las Vegas, NV - The thought of getting a root kit or back door on a critical system is always a bad one. These pieces of malicious code allow an attacker to continue to exploit your network and move laterally increasing their foot hold. The good news is that in most cases you can find and remove these holes either by paving the system (formatting and reinstalling) or by cleaning (not always the best choice).

DEF CON 22, Las Vegas, NV Aug 2014 – One of the most concerning things about the future of the internet and technology in general is the fact that the “bad guys” have the advantage. We have known about this for a very long time, but because of the state of the security industry many have allowed themselves to be blinded to just how bad it is and also how our current methods of patching and fixing are not working.

The P0wn2Own competition is getting s sibling. Now we are not talking about the competition sponsored by Google or even Microsoft. We are talking about a knockdown drag out competition to hammer the (lack of) security in residential and SOHO routers. The competition will be called SOHOpelessly Broken and will kick off at DEF CON 22 this year. Interestingly enough it is sponsored by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and Independent Security Evaluators (ISE).