With another busy week behind us in the security world, we sat down with Zach Lanier, a senior security researcher for mobile authentication specialist Duo Security. Zach is a recognized authority on the security of mobile devices, and was able to talk about some ongoing research he’s doing on Blackberry’s BB10 operating system. Zach told us that Blackberry 10, the latest version of Blackberry’s mobile operating system, is a big improvement over previous versions, including the TabletOS that Blackberry (formerly Research in Motion) used for its PlayBook – the company’s first foray into the tablet space. But Lanier and fixed many of the information leaks that he and others found in TabletOS and reported to the company. “But there are still lots of questions we’re looking to answer,” Lanier said. Among other things, Lanier is examining whether Blackberry 10’s support for so many different runtimes might pose security problems for […]
Podcasts
Hosted by Paul Roberts, The Security Ledger podcast features interviews with leading minds in the area of cyber security, threats and attacks. The Security Ledger is an independent security news website that explores the intersection of cyber security with business, commerce, politics and everyday life. Security Ledger provides well-reported and context-rich news and opinion about computer security topics that matter in our IP-enabled homes, workplaces and daily lives.
Is 2014 The Year Uncle Sam Takes On Connected Device Security?
The Consumer Electronics Show – or CES- kicked off last week in Las Vegas. In the last decade, CES has become one of the premiere venues for consumer device makers to launch new products and to show off prototypes of technology they hope to introduce to the public. Home entertainment megafauna dominate the coverage of CES — there was Samsung’s 85-inch LED LCD model with 4K resolution that can transform from flat-screen to curved display. But this year’s show is also a showcase for the next wave of connected devices, including wearable technology, smart appliances and connected vehicles. All these new platforms raise important questions about security, privacy and reliability. I sat down to talk about some of those issues with Mark Stanislav, the lead security evangelist at the firm Duo Security. Mark is a frequent contributor to The Security Ledger who last joined us to provide an end of year […]
Prediction: Rough Road Ahead in 2014 For Security and Internet of Things
With the New Year fast approaching, it’s (unofficially) ‘prediction season,’ when everyone worth their salt stares into the crystal ball and tries to imagine what the world will look like 12 months hence. To sort through our 2014 predictions, we called on Mark Stanislav, the chief Security Evangelist at Duo Security. Mark is a seasoned security researcher who has taken an interest in the security of the Internet of Things. Earlier this year, we wrote about research Mark did on the IZON Camera, an IP-enabled home surveillance camera that is sold by big-box retail stores like Best Buy, as well as by the Apple Store. Beneath the IZON’s polished exterior, the IZON was a mess of sloppy coding and poor security implementation, Stanislav discovered. Like many IoT devices, IZON cameras punted security to those responsible for the wireless network that it was deployed on – essentially trusting any connection from […]
How Connected Consumer Devices Fail The Security Test
The Internet of Things leverages the same, basic infrastructure as the original Internet – making use of protocols like TCP/IP, HTTP, Telnet and FTP. But the devices look and act very differently from traditional PCs, desktops and servers. Many IoT devices run embedded operating systems or variants of the open source Linux OS. And many are low-power and many are single function: designed to simply listen and observe their environment, then report that data to a central (cloud based repository). But IoT devices are still susceptible to hacking and other malicious attacks, including brute force attacks to crack user names and passwords, injection attacks, man in the middle attacks and other types of spoofing. Despite almost 20 years experience dealing with such threats in the context of PCs and traditional enterprise networks, however, too many connected devices that are sold to consumers lack even basic protections against such threats. […]
Podcast: Securing The Internet of Things
One of the most vexing problems created by the fast-evolving Internet of Things is how to secure the massive trove of data that is transmitted and then stored by smart devices such as automobiles, consumer and household electronics and personal devices. As we’ve seen, private sector firms have been aggressive in leveraging new technology to connect their products to the Internet. But less thought has been given to the security and privacy implications of doing so. Now people are starting to take notice. In recent weeks, the FTC settled a case with a California firm, TRENDNet over balky home surveillance cameras they sold – cameras that were discovered to be easily discoverable and hackable from the public Internet. But, with so many cooks in the IoT kitchen (so to speak), where does responsibility for securing technology lie? Recently, I chatted with an expert on security and the Internet of Things. […]
