Security

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WireGuard VPN Gets Added to the Next Linux Kernel

Andrew Orr · · Add Comment

I briefly mentioned WireGuard when I wrote of Cloudflare’s WARP beta. I think it’s something to add to your technology watch lists. It’s just not any old VPN app, it’s a VPN protocol that could very well replace current protocols like IPsec and OpenVPN, or at least be offered as an alternative. You can read the technical whitepaper here [PDF], along with this write up from Ars Technica.

WireGuard will now operate as either a Loadable Kernel Module (LKM) or built statically into the kernel itself. But whether static or loadable, it will be “in-tree”—which means it’s provided ready to go with the vanilla kernel itself, with no need for repackaging by the various distros. This puts it on the same footing as other supported drivers.

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New Zoom Bug Can Be Used to Steal Passwords, Access Your Webcam, Microphone

Andrew Orr · · 3 Comments

Security researcher Patrick Wardle disclosed two Zoom bugs today. They can be used to steal Windows passwords and access your webcam and microphone. They do however require physical access to the machine.

In this blog post, we’ll start by briefly looking at recent security and privacy flaws that affected Zoom. Following this, we’ll transition into discussing several new security issues that affect the latest version of Zoom’s macOS client.

At this point, Zoom should just rewrite its software completely.

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OpenWRT is Vulnerable to Remote Code Execution Attacks

Andrew Orr · · Add Comment

For three years, router firmware OpenWRT has been vulnerable to remote code execution attacks.

The researcher also found that it was trivial for attackers with moderate experience to bypass digital-signature checks that verify a downloaded update as the legitimate one offered by OpenWTR maintainers. The combination of those two lapses makes it possible to send a malicious update that vulnerable devices will automatically install.

This is especially concerning because OpenWRT is commonly recommend by privacy advocates as an alternative to built-in proprietary router firmware.

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Marriott Hit by Second Data Breach Affecting up to 5.2M People

Andrew Orr · · Add Comment

Hotel chain Marriott International has suffered a second data breach, exposing the personal data of up to 5.2 million guests.

The breach, which began in mid-January 2020 and was discovered at the end of February 2020, saw contact details, including names, addresses, birth dates, gender, email addresses and telephone numbers exposed. Employer name, gender, room stay preferences and loyalty account numbers were also exposed.

Marriott has also said that at present it does not believe passports, payment details or passwords were exposed in the data breach.

It sounds like login credentials of two employees were stolen, likely through a social engineering attack.

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Cellebrite Releases Report of Digital Intelligence Trends 2020

Andrew Orr · · Add Comment

Forensics company Cellebrite, mainly known for its iPhone hacking capabilities, released a report of top digital intelligence trends for 2020. One thing that stuck out at me:

…over 70 percent of officers are still asking witnesses and victims to surrender their devices…However, most people do not want to have their primary communication device taken away for an indefinite period. To combat this issue, 67 percent of agency management believe that mobility technology is important or very important to the agency’s long-term digital evidence strategy and 72 percent of investigators believe it is important to conduct in-the-field extractions of this data.

In other words, it sounds to me like LE wants the capability to extract data from devices on site, instead of sending it to a lab. Fast action is important for LE, but it may also be too fast for people to think about those pesky rights they have before handing their phone over.

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Grayshift Increases Price as it Struggles to Hack iPhones

Andrew Orr · · Add Comment

iOS forensics company Grayshift was forced to raise its prices last year, noting that “Forensic Access to iOS continues to increase in difficulty and complexity.”

“I think it’s going to get harder and harder to find these kinds of unlocking flaws, because Apple does control the entire stack,” Alex Stamos, director of the Stanford Internet Observatory and former Facebook chief security officer, previously told Motherboard. “I think a couple more hardware revisions of understanding the ways that these unlocks are happening and [Apple is] going to make it extremely difficult. Which then will bring this debate back…”

It’s a complex issue. On one hand it’s good news for Apple customers. On the other hand, it makes the government is fight tooth and nail to take away our security.