security

473 Articles

Black Hat 2008: What’s Next For Firefox Security

August 8, 2008 by 23 Comments

Mozilla security chief [Window Snyder] made some surprising announcements about Firefox Next, Mozilla’s next major browser overhaul. In her chat at the Black Hat security conference, she introduced three new initiatives that focused on threat modeling, training, and vulnerability metrics. For the threat modeling initiative, she’s hired Matasano Security consultants to review Firefox’s code for weaknesses and recommend mitigation tactics to protect the browser from hacker attacks. This isn’t inherently unusual; what is abnormal is that the information, once the work is done, will be revealed to the public. The training initiative will have IOActive trainers working with Mozilla engineers on secure computer programming practices. At the end, according to [Snyder], online versions of the classes will be released to the public, along with the class materials. The last initiative revolves around security metrics, and is already in progress. Essentially, the project will ideally take the focus off of patch-counting and provide a better assessment of security and vulnerability issues. [Snyder] says “We’re in the early phase, working on incorporating feedback from the rest of the industry.” She also reveals some more Firefox developments, including possibly incorporating NoScript into the core browser and implementing protected mode, but they’re still a long way from becoming standard features.

Black Hat 2008: FasTrak Toll System Completely Broken

August 6, 2008 by 35 Comments


FasTrak is the electronic toll collection system used by the state of California. Motorists can purchase a toll transponder for ~$26 and link the serial number with a debit account to have their tolls deducted automatically. Today at Black Hat in Las Vegas, security researcher [Nate Lawson] presented not just the privacy problems with FasTrak, but why absolutely no transaction from the tag should be trusted.

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Black Hat 2008: EFF Coders’ Rights Project Announced

August 6, 2008 by No comments

The EFF has just announce the creation of the Coders’ Rights Project website at the Black Hat conference. The sites’ main goal is to centralize legal information for coders, and to help protect important security work from legal actions that may be taken against them with the DMCA and other legal black holes. While this is in no way a fully comprehensive list of everything you need to know, it looks like a good place to start, and provides a few FAQs for suggestions on how to stay in the legal clear as much as possible. At numerous points the documents suggest you speak with a lawyer, if you have any deeper questions, which you absolutely should. This can be very helpful if a person or group finds a security risk, and wants to publish it, or just wants to start looking into possible security risks.

More On GIFAR

August 6, 2008 by 9 Comments


[pdp] provides some perspective on the news regarding the GIFAR attack developed by researchers at NGS Software. As he explains, the idea behind the attack, which basically relies on combining a JAR with other files is not new. Combining JAR/ZIP files with GIF/JPG files will create hybrid files with headers at both the top and bottom of the file and allow them to bypass any image manipulation library as valid files. While tightened security and more stringent file validation practices are advisable, the problem is larger than just a vulnerability in browser security. ZIP is an incredibly generic packing technology used everywhere, from Microsoft files to Open Office documents, and of course, in JAR files. He closes with, “any file format that is based on ZIP, you allow your users to upload on your server, can be used in an attack”

[photo: Jon Jacobsen]

Essential Bluetooth Hacking Tools

August 1, 2008 by 9 Comments

Security-Hacks has a great roundup of essential Bluetooth hacking tools. As they point out, Bluetooth technology is very useful for communication with mobile devices. However, it is also vulnerable to privacy and security invasions. Learning the ins and outs of these tools will allow you to familiarize yourself with Bluetooth vulnerabilities and strengths, and enable you to protect yourself from attackers. The list is separated into two parts – tools to detect Bluetooth devices, and tools to hack into Bluetooth devices. Check out BlueScanner, which will detect Bluetooth-enabled devices, and will extract as much information as possible from those devices. Other great tools to explore include BTCrawler, which scans for Windows Mobile devices, or Bluediving, which is a Bluetooth penetration suite, and offers some unique features like the ability to spoof Bluetooth addresses, and an L2CAP packet generator. Most of the tools are available for use with Linux platforms, but there are a few you can also use with Windows.

[via Digg]

Teenager Invents Vehicular Antitheft System

July 30, 2008 by 31 Comments

We are very inspired by the story of [Morris Mbetsa], an 18-year-old Kenyan who’s invented the “Block & Track”, an antitheft and tracking system for vehicles that’s phone-based. [Mbetsa] has no formal training, but he’s been a lifelong inventor and tinkerer. [Mbetsa] combined voice, DTMF, and SMS text messaging technologies with cellphone based services to allow the owner to control the vehicle’s electrical system remotely. The owner, using his cellphone, can take control of the ignition, and disable it at any time. Other features include the ability to lock the car remotely, and the capability of dialing into the car and listening in on any conversations taking place within the vehicle. [Mbetsa] is currently looking for funding to take his invention to the next level; we’re eager to see what he’ll come up with next.

[via Digg]

Lock Picking And Security Disclosure

July 28, 2008 by 5 Comments


Slate is running an interesting article about taking new security approaches to lock vulnerabilities. In the past, lock makers such as Medeco have been able to quietly update their product lines to strengthen their security, but as movements such as Locksport International gain popularity and lock picking videos on YouTube become dime a dozen, lock makers can no longer rely on security through obscurity. It’s no question that an increased interest in this field helps lock manufacturers to create more secure products, but because patching these flaws often means changing critical features of the lock, it becomes a very expensive game of cat-and-mouse.

Traditional lock picking has employed the use of picksets, like the credit card sized set given out sold at The Last HOPE, but more recent methods of lock hacking have used bump keys or even magnets. However, as manufacturers make their locks less susceptible to picking and bumping, not even high-security locks will ward off someone determined enough to create a copy of the key, either by observing the original or using impressioning, as [Barry Wels] covered in a recent talk at HOPE 2008.