A newly discovered vulnerability dubbed ‘Boothole’ compromises the foundation of device security for “virtually all Linux distributions” and some Microsoft’s Windows devices that employ “Secure Boot” feature, according to a new report.
Tag: Linux
Update: ShellShock’s Long Tail in the Enterprise
The recently disclosed vulnerability in the Linux Bash function dubbed “ShellShock” is creating a firestorm of coverage – and rightly so. The 22 year-old security hole is remotely exploitable and affects Linux based web servers and an unknown number of other devices that might run on linux and contain vulnerable services. However, unlike the recent “Heartbleed” OpenSSL vulnerability, identifying systems vulnerable to Shellshock won’t be easy. Shellshocked first came to light on Wednesday, when Linux vendors including Red Hat began warning about the security hole. The vulnerability allows a malicious actor to take advantage of built in Bash functions, wrapping them in environmental variables and then appending malicious code to the end of function definitions within the variable. In a blog post, Redhat said that any application that runs a shell script using Bash as the command interpreter, or that is hooked onto a shell is vulnerable to attack. Paul Venezia, writing over at InfoWorld, gives one […]
Heartbleed Prompts Fiscal Lifeline For Open Source
One of the most powerful (and substantive) realizations to come out of the news about the ‘Heartbleed’ OpenSSL vulnerability was that open source projects need help and attention from the tech community that relies on their fruits. I’ve written about this before – noting Apple’s reluctance to put some of its considerable cash hoard towards supporting open source projects it relies on (like the Apache Software Foundation), as have others. [Read Security Ledger’s coverage of the Heartbleed vulnerability here.] Now that idea appears to have taken root. On Thursday, the Linux Foundation announced the creation of the Core Infrastructure Initiative, a multi-million dollar project to fund open source projects that are in the critical path for core computing functions. The CII group has some substantial backing. Google, Cisco, Microsoft, Facebook, Amazon, IBM, Intel, Samsung, Fujitsu and VMWare all signed on to the CII Steering Committee. (Surprising (or not): Apple was not one of the firms supporting […]
Open Source IoT Platform Would Boost Security
Interoperability (or the lack of it) stands out as one of the major obstacles to the expansion of the Internet of Things. As we’ve discussed on this blog, the lack of a common platform for Internet-enabled devices to communicate on has resulted in a balkanized IoT landscape. Nest’s smart thermometer and smoke detector communicate and share information famously, but if you want to link them with some smart appliance from GE or LG, you’re out of luck. But that may soon be changing. On Tuesday, The Linux Foundation announced a new, cross industry consortium of major IT infrastructure makers, software vendors and electronics firms. The AllSeen Alliance is tasked with developing a common, open source platform that allows hardware and software firms to unite their creations, regardless of their brand – and provide basic security features, to boot. The Alliance counts electronics giants like Panasonic, Qualcomm, LG and Sharp as […]
Symantec Warns: Worm Can Target Internet of Things
Symantec, the security software firm, is reporting that its researchers have discovered a new, malicious “worm” that is spreading on the Internet and has been adapted to attack embedded devices running the Linux operating system, including many devices that are part of the Internet of Things. Writing on the Symantec research blog, Kaoru Hayashi, a threat analyst within Symantec’s Security Response organization, said that the company had uncovered the worm, dubbed Linux.Darlloz, spreading between more common PC systems. However, an analysis of the program revealed that its creators were thinking big: engineering the worm to be capable of attacking a “range of small, Internet-enabled devices in addition to traditional computers.” Specifically, Symantec’s team found variants of Darlloz for chip architectures common in devices ranging from home routers and set-top boxes to security cameras. The warnings about an “Internet of Things worm” were hypothetical, however. Hayashi said that no attacks against non-PC […]
