March 2016 – Paul's Notepad

Threat: New iPhone exploit discovered by the FBI.

Paul Darr / 2016-03-31 / Leave a Comment

Threat: New iPhone exploit discovered by the FBI.
Solution: Keep sensitive information encrypted on other devices.
URL: http://thehackernews.com/2016/03/fbi-iphone-unlock_28.html

The FBI has recently dropped it’s case against Apple after it found it’s own way to unlock the dead terrorists iPhone 5c. Currently experts suspect the technique involved NAND Mirroring (a technique used to copy the contents of the phone’s NAND memory chip and flash a fresh copy back onto the chip when the max number of attempts is exceeded) but the FBI is not revealing the details of it’s technique.

One thing I do know is that once an exploit is out, it’s difficult to keep it secret. Now that the FBI has this method to unlock encrypted devices, it won’t be long until people with bad intentions also learn similar techniques. In general to protect your personal information I would recommend keeping as much of it off of your portable device as you can and to use multiple security layers when possible.

Threat: New iPhone exploit discovered by the FBI. Read Post »

USB Thief, new USB-based data stealing malware

Paul Darr / 2016-03-24 / Leave a Comment

Threat: USB Thief, new USB-based data stealing malware.
Solution: Disable USB ports were possible and have AUP which enforce care in their use.
URL: http://www.welivesecurity.com/2016/03/23/eset-discovers-new-usb-based-data-stealing-malware/

USB Thief is a new USB-based data stealing malware that only uses USB devices for propagation. The malware also uses multi-stage encryption to hide its tracks and make it very difficult to detect. The malware is written in a way that each install is bound to each device, making it difficult to copy and analyze.

USB Thief is ideal for attacking isolated (Air-gapped) networks that are not vulnerable to other internet based attacks. It seems this malware has been designed for targeted attacks against specific networks. It is highly advised that staff at all levels undergo cyber security training.

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New Desktop Purchase

Paul Darr / 2016-03-23 / Leave a Comment

I’ve had my old system for over six years now and I felt it might finally be time for an upgrade. So I have been searching NewEgg and doing a few test builds for what hardware I might want at the right price. Today the stars aligned and a few components came on sale at the same time. I like to keep a low budget yet have a system capable of doing all the tasks I need. So that influenced some of my decisions.

For the processor I liked the price and multitasking of this:
AMD FX-8300 Vishera 8-Core Socket AM3+ 95W FD8300WMHKBOX Desktop Processor

For the motherboard I liked the price and features of:
MSI 970A-G46-R AM3+ AMD 970 + SB950

For memory I decided to go with:
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB)

I also decided to get a new case:
DEEPCOOL TESSERACT WH Mid Tower Computer Case

I’ll reuse the video card that I recently upgraded my old system with:
MSI Computer Video Graphics Cards N730K-2GD5LP/OC

I’ll also reuse the power supply and SSD from that system.

All the new components for the system cost me $247. So that will be $2 than my old build that also reused parts, though not the same reused ones.

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Rogue access points and Evil Twins pose risks on open networks.

Paul Darr / 2016-03-14 / Leave a Comment

Threat: Rogue access points and Evil Twins pose risks on open networks.
Solution: Users: disable automatic connection to wifi networks. Businesses: use network segmentation and devices that provide intrusion and malware detection.
URL: https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2016/03/14/rogue-access-point-rsa-conference/

In this article the authors set up an open access point at RSA Conference configured to use some common SSID’s. Interestingly enough they 2,456 devices connect to the access points. These access points could have easily been configured as evil twins to snoop the network traffic of attendees that came to the conference. Luckily for the attendees this was just a test and their devices were just served the internet without bad intentions.

As a user there are several ways to protect against this type of attack. The first step would be to disable automatic connection to wifi networks. This would stop your device from connecting to an evil twin without your knowledge. As a business owner there are also several options to protect customers you want to provide access to wifi. Network segmentation and devices that offer other network protections are a good start. In addition, providing security such as WPA2 is another good option.

Rogue access points and Evil Twins pose risks on open networks. Read Post »