28/03/2013

IDG Connect Dan Swinhoe (Global) - Hijacking Your Toaster: Hacking Embedded Systems

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Dan Swinhoe (Global) - Hijacking Your Toaster: Hacking Embedded Systems

Posted b y Dan Swinhoe Company IDG Connect 03/28/2013

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Rememb er when people thought that Macs couldn't get device? Or computer b ugs were actually flies stuck in the computer? And rememb er when hacking and viruses weren't a constant and expensive threat that could almost kill you? A few weeks ago my flatmate b rought home a copy of Cab aret on DVD - someone had a left a b ox of DVD with a help yourself' sign. Aside from his over-eagerness for musicals, I did think ab out security. Could someone intentionally infect a DVD with a virus, for some poor sap to infect his laptop or DVD player, with? After a few searches the answer generally pointed to yes, b ut also showed it's not worth the effort to infect DVD players - there are no details, internet connection or reward. But it got me thinking, what ab out Smart TVs? And that's where things get interesting. With so many devices with emb edded applications (around 10 b illion according to Stuart McClure- former CTO of McAfee), many of which are internet-enab led, you'd think security would b e high on the priorities list. But you'd b e wrong. Though some may have very b asic encryption, it's nothing even a slightly determined hacker couldn't b ypass. Internet guru Vint Cerf recently lamented this newfound connectivity, saying he was "frankly astonished" at the range of devices that now come with an internet connection. While it's true hacking an internet enab led fridge won't end the world (unless you really, really wanted that leftover pizza for b reakfast), If a hacker could get control of the nation's aircon units, and cycle b etween shutting them down and whacking them up to full, you might b e ab le to crash the US power grid. While Cerf spoke ab out possib ilities, emb edded systems have already b een hacked- repeatedly. Researchers found several vulnerab ilities in Smart TVs, Printers, Cars, Xb oxes, and even a pacemaker. Luckily most of these have b een b y researchers proving a point, b ut in 2008 a Polish teenager hacked in a tram network and injured twelve people. It's not just Smart TVs and tram systems that are at risk. Recently an anonymous researcher found millions of insecure ob jects after scanning the web - printers, web cams and set-top b oxes protected only b y default passwords. Spending all the money in the world on anti-virus and security software gets you nowhere if hackers can ab use your internet-enab led toaster. Seemingly for every smart' device that comes out, a hack to show how insecure it is usually follows suite. In the last twelve months Smarthome meters have b een hacked to fool power companies, b ut there's no reason it can't b e turned around, and wireless NFC payments can b e used to nick your b anking details. When there's so much in the press recently b asically saying people are struggling enough with securing their smartphones, it reduced the level of trust in every other emb edded system to almost zero. I've personally never understood the need for everything to b e internet-connected, Wi-Fi enab led and ab le to connect to my smartphone. And after researching for this b log, I'm even more sceptical. By Dan Swinhoe, Editorial Assistant, IDG Connect Are internet-enabled devices safe? Do you trust them? Comment below. Why Blackb erry wont stage a comeb ack, India's innovation and China's Shanda unviel their very own Firefox SmartWatch http://t.co/ZOMNJejMfG Infographic: How to Troub leshoot DNS Prob lems http://t.co/zXRF1AfsVP Whitepaper: What's Yours is Mine- How Employees are Putting Your Intellectual Property at Risk [Gated] http://t.co/iSdqtKOxzA Follow idgconnect on Twitter Jeremy Engdahl-Johnson 03-26-2013

What you're Saying Ayesha Salim (US) - Electronic Health Records: Heading for Disaster
How can urb an and rural hospitals get a b etter return on investment for the cost of electronic health records? http://www.healthcaretownhall.com/?p=58...

Ayesha Salim (US) - Electronic Health Records: Heading for Disaster

Odd that this article would not include the GOVs parallel solution to 'connecting' all the EHRs and ensuring they are implemented with standards. In... Bill Elliott 03-26-2013

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