In-brief: Paul Roberts talks with Marc Blackmer of Cisco Systems about the recent Black Hat and DEF CON conferences, as well as a proposal Cisco is working on a for a new, open standard for connecting use policies to intelligent devices.
DEFCON
Security of seismic sensor grid probed – BBC News
The BBC reports that thousands of seismic sensors monitoring geological activity are vulnerable to manipulation by way of cyber attack, though the seismic gear maker disputes the researchers’ findings. The poor security controls around the way the sensors transmit data were detailed in a presentation at the Def Con hacker convention. Researchers found ways to fool and overload sensors so monitoring systems would get wildly inaccurate readings.The findings have been reported to the US computer emergency organisation (sp) that oversees national infrastructure. Nanometrics, the company that makes the sensor system that was probed disputed the researchers’ findings. Source: Security of seismic sensor grid probed – BBC News
DARPA Grand Challenge Spurs Automation, AI to Secure Internet of Things
In-brief: A hacker capture the flag tournament will take place without any human intervention. It’s the final competition in DARPA’s Cyber Grand Challenge, a contest to spur developments in automation and artificial intelligence to solve cyber security problems.
Gee Whiz! Connected Hotel Room Controls Vulnerable to Hacking
In-brief: security researcher Matthew Garrett of the firm COREOS found that software-based lighting controls in his London hotel room, which had replaced mechanical light switches, could be easily hacked, giving him the ability to control lighting in any room in the facility.
DEFCON To Host IoT Hacking Village
The Internet of Things has arrived – at least insofar as the hacker underground is concerned. The IoT is getting its own Village at DefCon. Sure, it’s been easy enough to see for a while that hacking “stuff” was what all the cool kids were doing, whether you were talking about Barnaby Jack’s “Jackpotting ATMs” presentation or the research on telematics systems by folks like Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek. But the creation of a dedicated “IoT Village” at the show, alongside staples like the Lockpick Village, the Wireless Village and the Packet Hacking Village (aka “The Wall of Sheep”) establishes Internet of Things hacking as a major new “vertical” within the diverse and fast-evolving hacking subculture. [Read more Security Ledger coverage of hacking the Internet of Things.] Villages are dedicated areas of the DEFCON conference where attendees can converge to view demonstrations and take part in hands on lessons […]
