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Category Archives for "Networking"

The full-disk encryption protecting your Android can be cracked

If you have an Android device running 5.0 (Lollipop) or later, and powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, then you should know that a security researcher demonstrated how to crack the full-disk encryption (FDE) with brute-force attacks; the fix is not necessarily as simple as installing new firmware and might require changes to hardware.Full-disk encryption, which is supported on devices running Lollipop on up, is supposed to protect files on the storage drive. Android uses a randomly chosen 128-bit device encryption key which is further encrypted using a user’s PIN, password or swipe pattern. The master key, or Device Encryption Key (DEK), is stored on a user’s device; it is bound to the device’s hardware though Android’s KeyMaster, which runs in the TrustZone. In other words, an attacker should not be able to extract the crypto key for this walled-off and protected section.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Golang: Exercising pointers, interfaces, functions and wrapping

This article is inspired by my somewhat confused learning experience with interfaces, methods and wrapping functions in Golang. Needless to say, there was some serious learning to do here given first of all I was a C junkie then moved swiftly to Python for ease and speed in the networking world. Lots to learn.

Golang

The reason for concentration on Golang? It’s simple, powerful, quick to compile and massively supported with a vibrant community. A little like the film ‘Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels’, I take the tenet of ‘guns for show, knives for a pro’ approach with Python and Golang; roughly translating to Python for proof-of-concepts, speed and simple apps, Golang for performance and services. Therefore knowing how interfaces, pointers, types and methods based on types are critical knowledge components!

Show me the code

The code below is an exercise of interfaces, function wrapping, pointers and mixing usage of them all. It does not cover why you might want to do it, so go and learn that yourself. Pointers are great for highly optimised applications and can also save memory if used correctly. With Golang’s garbage collection, worrying about freeing memory is not an issue. Exercise 6 will Continue reading

Automotive cybersecurity; what we don’t hack will probably be used to kill us

Car hacking is not only a “thing” but it's also a thing that’s in its early days and because there’s the potential for exploits with serious and quite possibly life-threatening consequences, automotive cybersecurity is something we should all be very concerned about. Just imagine your own car traveling at speed and having your ability to steer, alter speed, and brake, taken away and then being ransomed to regain control. Charles01 / Wikipedia Chrysler Jeep CherokeeTo read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Automotive cybersecurity; what we don’t hack will probably be used to kill us

Car hacking is not only a “thing” but it's also a thing that’s in its early days and because there’s the potential for exploits with serious and quite possibly life-threatening consequences, automotive cybersecurity is something we should all be very concerned about. Just imagine your own car traveling at speed and having your ability to steer, alter speed, and brake, taken away and then being ransomed to regain control. Charles01 / Wikipedia Chrysler Jeep CherokeeTo read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Meraki MX – URL Filtering

Over the past few days, I’ve spent quite a bit of time looking at some of the advanced capabilities of modern Cisco Firewalls. My most recent testing was done with the Meraki MX 60 cloud managed Firewall product. What I have to say is this is the easiest to configure content filter I’ve ever seen. So I just wanted to take a moment and share what that looks like.Meraki MX Menu

As with all Meraki products, the MX is completely cloud managed. So to manage the device, and administrator must access the Meraki Dashboard. Once authenticated, it is simply necessary to choose Security Appliance then Content Filtering from the menu on the right.

Once on the content filtering page, the policy is self explanatory. The top section is for categories that should be blocked. While the box appears to be a free form entry field, clicking anywhere in the area presents a list of categories to choose from. The bottom section allows for manual whitelisting and blacklisting. To get a better idea on how the match is performed and the format requirements of the block criteria, the “Learn how URL blocking works” link may be selected.

Meraki Content Filtering Page

For those wanting to see the complete category list Continue reading

Worth Reading: Alchemy can’t save Moore’s Law

We don’t have a Moore’s Law problem so much as we have a materials science or alchemy problem. If you believe in materials science, what seems abundantly clear in listening to so many discussions about the end of scale for chip manufacturing processes is that, for whatever reason, the industry as a whole has not done enough investing to discover the new materials that will allow us to enhance or move beyond CMOS chip technology. -The Next Platform

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These solar road panels could turn our world into Tron

Solar Roadways believes the road ahead should be paved with solar panels. The Idaho startup makes hexagonal solar panels that it's trying to get installed on U.S. roads. The goal is to generate enough energy to power homes and businesses, and the panels can even light up to display programmable road markings. It's a lofty idea but the company has gained some early support. Solar Roadways has completed three rounds of testing with the U.S. Department of Transportation and in 2014 it raised over $2 million on Indiegogo. The project has also caught the attention of Missouri's Department of Transportation, which will install the panels, as part of a pilot program, on a sidewalk in front of the Route 66 Welcome Center in Conway. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

A simple metadata server to run cloud images on standalone libvirt :: KVM Hypervisor

With all the interest in Cloud Computing and virtualization, the OS vendors are providing ever more easier ways to deploy VMs. Most of them now come with cloud images. This makes it really easy for users to deploy VMs with the distro of their choice on a cloud platform like OpenStack or AWS. Here are … Continue reading A simple metadata server to run cloud images on standalone libvirt :: KVM Hypervisor

Book – Unintended Features

Hi everyone,

I have some exciting news to share with you. I’ve been working on a book lately together with Russ White. It’s called Unintended Features – Thoughts on thinking and life as a network engineer. The book is partly based on blog post we have written in the past but also some unique content for the book. The outline of the book is as follows:

So you’ve decided you want to be a network engineer—or you’re already you a network engineer, and you want to be a better engineer, to rise to the top, to be among the best, to… Well, you get the idea. The question is, how do you get from where you are now to where you want to be? This short volume is designed to answer just that question.

This book tries to teach concepts not found in other writings such as thinking more about architecture and seeing patterns in technology and how to stay current in the networking industry. With the rapid pace of the networking industry it seems like we are sipping from the fire hose. How can we prevent this? Isn’t every new technology pretty much an old one with some new Continue reading

New Satana ransomware encrypts user files and master boot record

Attackers are developing an aggressive new ransomware program for Windows machines that encrypts user files as well as the computer's master boot record (MBR), leaving devices unable to load the OS.The program is dubbed Satana -- meaning "Satan" in Italian and Romanian -- and, according to researchers from security firm Malwarebytes, it is functional but still under development.Satana is the second ransomware threat affecting the MBR and seems inspired by another program, Petya, that appeared in March.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

New Satana ransomware encrypts user files and master boot record

Attackers are developing an aggressive new ransomware program for Windows machines that encrypts user files as well as the computer's master boot record (MBR), leaving devices unable to load the OS.The program is dubbed Satana -- meaning "Satan" in Italian and Romanian -- and, according to researchers from security firm Malwarebytes, it is functional but still under development.Satana is the second ransomware threat affecting the MBR and seems inspired by another program, Petya, that appeared in March.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Firmware exploit can defeat new Windows security features on Lenovo ThinkPads

A newly released exploit can disable the write protection of critical firmware areas in Lenovo ThinkPads and possibly laptops from other vendors as well. Many new Windows security features, like Secure Boot, Virtual Secure Mode and Credential Guard, depend on the low-level firmware being locked down.The exploit, dubbed ThinkPwn, was published earlier this week by a researcher named Dmytro Oleksiuk, who did not share it with Lenovo in advance. This makes it a zero-day exploit -- an exploit for which there is no patch available at the time of its disclosure.ThinkPwn targets a privilege escalation flaw in a Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) driver, allowing an attacker to remove the flash write protection and to execute rogue code in the SMM (System Management Mode), a privileged operating mode of the CPU.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Firmware exploit can defeat new Windows security features on Lenovo ThinkPads

A newly released exploit can disable the write protection of critical firmware areas in Lenovo ThinkPads and possibly laptops from other vendors as well. Many new Windows security features, like Secure Boot, Virtual Secure Mode and Credential Guard, depend on the low-level firmware being locked down.The exploit, dubbed ThinkPwn, was published earlier this week by a researcher named Dmytro Oleksiuk, who did not share it with Lenovo in advance. This makes it a zero-day exploit -- an exploit for which there is no patch available at the time of its disclosure.ThinkPwn targets a privilege escalation flaw in a Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) driver, allowing an attacker to remove the flash write protection and to execute rogue code in the SMM (System Management Mode), a privileged operating mode of the CPU.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Apple patents a smartphone camera kill switch

The advent of high-resolution video recording in smartphones has been a boon for fans looking for concert footage on YouTube, but the bands aren't so keen on their concerts appearing for free online before the show even ends.Of course, it also sucks to be at a concert and have your view blocked by the dozens of smartphones being held up to take pictures and video.So it seems Apple, which has been trying to cozy up to the music industry, has come up with a fix that sounds good on paper but has potential for misuse. It has been granted a patent, first filed in 2011 and refiled in 2014, that allows the iPhone camera to detect an infrared signal that will give instructions or information to the camera.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: Cybersecurity: Stop the attacker’s offense, don’t do defense

Enterprises are fighting a cyber war against very sophisticated and highly organized adversaries. Yet companies still approach cybersecurity with a strictly defensive mindset. They operate under the belief that having the best defense will keep them safe from advanced adversaries. But attackers know how to break any defense, guaranteeing they’ll eventually infiltrate a company.Organizations need to approach security by thinking about how they can stop offense. How is this different from having a strong defense? When you’re stopping offense, you don’t stand on the sidelines waiting for an attacker to breach your network, hoping that the security measures you have in place will be enough to stop them.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: Cybersecurity: Stop the attacker’s offense, don’t do defense

Enterprises are fighting a cyber war against very sophisticated and highly organized adversaries. Yet companies still approach cybersecurity with a strictly defensive mindset. They operate under the belief that having the best defense will keep them safe from advanced adversaries. But attackers know how to break any defense, guaranteeing they’ll eventually infiltrate a company.Organizations need to approach security by thinking about how they can stop offense. How is this different from having a strong defense? When you’re stopping offense, you don’t stand on the sidelines waiting for an attacker to breach your network, hoping that the security measures you have in place will be enough to stop them.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

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