Black Hat
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Airport Scanners Have Account Backdoors, Default Passwords
Many of the machines deployed at airport security checkpoints have embedded accounts with default passwords that can be abused, Billy Rios, director of threat intelligence at Qualys, told attendees at the Black Hat conference on Wednesday. In this case, the concern is that attackers may be able to use the accounts as a backdoor to get access to the system.
How to Tell If The Spies Are Watching You, for Cheap
The government has tons of money to fund its survillance programs. If its snoops really wants to find out what you are up to, it has almost infinite amounts of resources at its disposal. A university professor described to DEF CON attendees how the ordinary citizenry could shield their activities, without having to rob a bank to fund the project.
Criminal Data Exchanges Offer Great Customer Service Experience
It's bad enough when our personal and financial information gets exposed during a data breach. It's adding insult to injury when we become identity theft victims because some other criminal got their hands on the information and had a shopping spree.
Hackers Go After Rachel
Rachel is the most prolific robocall bot currently operating in the United States according to the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC is offering $17,000 in prize money to hackers who help the agency find the telemarketers behind Rachel.
Hacking the Lights in a Luxury Hotel
During a stay in the St. Regis in Shenzhen, China, Jesus Molina, an independent security consultant and former chair of the Trusted Computing Group, successfully hacked the controls of 200 rooms in the luxury hotel using an iPad.
Hackers to Auto CEOs: Build Secure Cars!
A group of security researchers determined to make the physical world a safer place demanded automobile manufacturers to build cars designed to withstand cyber attacks.
Hacking Airliners, Ships, and More Through Satellite Communications
At Black Hat, a security researcher showed that satellite communication systems were full of vulnerabilities. Why should you care? Well, have you ever been on an airplane?
Required Viewing: Dan Geer's Black Hat Keynote on the Philosophy and Future of the Internet
At Black Hat, Dan Geer gave a sobering and thoughtful speech on the philosophy of the Internet.
Encryption Keeps Your Data Safe. Or Does It?
Encrypt your files, encrypt your email, encrypt your whole hard drive, and then you'll be safe. Except that encryption isn't perfect, as Black Hat attendees learned.
Your iPhone Isn't as Secure as You Thought
iOS devices are safe from hacking; that only happens on Android. Yeah, right. At the Black Hat conference a team from Georgia Institute of Technology busted this myth quite thoroughly.
An Evil USB Drive Could Take Over Your PC Undetectably
Common USB malware relies on the autoplay mechanism to infect a PC. A new technique demonstrated at the Black Hat conference subverts the USB device's controller chip to create "a self-replicating USB virus not detectable with current defenses."
How Black Hat Deals With Misogyny
Infosec, much like the larger tech industry, is dominated by men. Even so, I used to have this vague sense that sexism and misogyny in the information security sector wasn't that bad. I had believed that there are plenty of people willing to step up and call out behavior, and people with the power are committed to making the space safe and welcome. I am looking at you, Black Hat, and I am proud.
Computer Crime or Legitimate Research?
Security researchers run a strong risk of breaking various laws just by doing their jobs. How can we upgrade these decades-old laws to block criminal activity yet avoid punishing legitimate research?
Can We Fight Government-Sponsored Malware?
Organized cyber-crime can come up with some pretty nasty attacks, but nation-states can pour vastly more resources into developing cyber-weapons. Is there any defense against government-sponsored malware?
Creating a Bitcoin-Mining Botnet at No Cost
Bitcoins are valuable, in large part because mining for bitcoins takes a lot of resources. At Black Hat a pair of researchers demonstrated that it's possible to gain access to the necessary resources in the cloud without spending a penny.
Malware Gives Itself Away by Trying to Hide
Modern malware detection is a cat and mouse game, with the bad guys constantly trying to evade detection by the good guys. A pair of Intel researchers have devised a technique for detecting malware based on the way it tries to avoid detection.
Black Hat 2014 by the Numbers
Black Hat is huge. Just how big is it? Here are some of the numbers.
Security Researcher Claims He Can Hack Airplanes Via Wi-Fi
Ruben Santamarta is planning to lay out technical details of the hack during this week's Black Hat conference.
Eight Terrifying Things To See at Black Hat 2014
For the next few days, Las Vegas will have the largest concentration of hackers—black, gray, and white hats all alike—in the world as independent testers, security researchers, and information security professionals all descend upon Sin City for Black Hat and DEFCON conferences. Everything will be scary. But what are we looking forward to?
Don't Get Hacked at Black Hat and DefCon
You go to the Black Hat and DefCon conferences to learn about hacking, not to get hacked. Here are some tips to help you stay safe.
