software development

Researchers Warn of Physics-Based Attacks on Sensors

Billions of sensors that are already deployed lack protections against attacks that manipulate the physical properties of devices to cause sensors and embedded devices to malfunction, researchers working in the U.S. and China have warned. 

Update: Five Billion Tests Later: IoT and Industrial Control System Protocols Raise Alarms

In-brief: Close to five billion “fuzzing” tests conducted during 2016 reveal protocols used by industrial control systems, vehicles and Internet of Things devices to be weaker, on average, with many crashing hundreds of times and revealing vulnerabilities that could be used by malicious actors. (Editor’s note: added comment by Chris Clark. Aug 9 2017 – PFR)

code on a monitor

Code Tutorials Spread Application Flaws Far and Wide

In-brief: Researchers at universities in Germany, working with the security firm Trend Micro, discovered more than 100 vulnerabilities in GitHub code repositories simply by looking for re-used code from tutorials and other free code samples. The same method could be harnessed by cyber criminals or other sophisticated attackers to find and exploit vulnerabilities in software applications, the researchers warned.

VoiP Router

Dbl Trouble: Fix Falls Short for Backdoor in China-Made Devices

In-brief: A hidden, backdoor account affects a line of VoIP gateways made by DblTek, researchers from TrustWave found. The manufacturers fix, however, may not solve the problem. 

Paul Roberts and Chenxi Wang - RSA Conference

Interview: Chenxi Wang on Information Security’s Mr. Robot Problem and Enforcing IoT Standards

In-brief: In an interview with Security Ledger Editor in Chief Paul Roberts, Chenxi Wang of the firm Twist Lock talks about information security’s “Mr. Robot” problem and the need for standards for the Internet of Things.