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.
Conferences
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
Silent Epidemic: Do Software Errors Already Affect Patient Outcomes?
In-brief: Software- and hardware related failures already may already affect patient outcomes, experts say, but nobody is measuring it.
Apple Falls In Line: Offers Bounties Up To $200K For iOS, iCloud
In-brief: Apple announced on Thursday that a new bug bounty program would pay researchers up to $200,000 for information on flaws in its iOS mobile operating system and iCloud service, joining the ranks of technology firms that offer cash for information on software vulnerabilities.
White House Effort Yields Rating System for Software Security
In-brief: A White House-backed effort to develop a system for rating software security is set to launch at this week’s Black Hat briefings with famed hacker Peiter Zatko (aka “Mudge”) at the helm.