Groups | Search | Server Info | Keyboard shortcuts | Login | Register [http] [https] [nntp] [nntps]

Groups > comp.misc > #3993 > unrolled thread

The Internet of Things has already been rooted

Back to article view | Back to comp.misc

Contents

  The Internet of Things has already been rooted RS Wood  <rsw@therandymon.com> - 2014-07-10 11:26 +0000

#3993 — The Internet of Things has already been rooted

From the «6 researchers and 24 beers can work wonders» department:
Title: The Internet of Things has already been rooted
Author: zafiro17@pipedot.org
Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2014 07:42:46 -0400
Link: http://pipedot.org/story/2014-07-10/the-internet-of-things-has-already-been-rooted

Manufacturers and the easily-excited tech media are more excited than ever to
push us into the world of the "Internet of Things," in which common
appliances can all communicate with us over (presumably) TCP/IP. I have yet
to see why this is useful for anyone other than appliance manufacturers, who
will have a reason to sell us new versions of everything we already own.But
here's another reason to be suspect: the folks building out the latest smart
devices seem to have avoided learning any lessons from the security flaws we
have been working out of the last wave of devices (computers, phones,
routers)[1]. This article asks, "How many security researchers does it take
to hack a [smart] lightbulb?" and concludes: not very many at all.

Routers are an obvious target for hackers as they are intrinsically linked
to the Internet making it possible for hackers to compromise them from a
distance, but less attention has been given to some of the other
network-enabled devices cropping up in people’s homes. Once a hacker has
access to a person’s home network they have access to any device connected
to it, and with an increasingly diverse suite of devices coming online the
potential to break down the barrier between the cyber and the physical
worlds is getting ever greater.To demonstrate the concept, Context’s senior
managers bought a case of beer and five network-enabled consumer devices
from a mixture of start-ups and established vendors, configured them with
the recommended security settings, set up a secure wi-fi network and set
their best and brightest cyber-security researchers to the task of hacking
this mock smart home.

Don't feel bad though that the new Internet of Things has been delivered
pre-rooted. Your new Android Wear watch just got rooted too[2]. Hopefully
they'll invent "smart underwear" too so that can get rooted upon arrival:
then we'll really be vulnerable.[Ed. note: Kudos to this research team, by
the way, for ensuring their study was accompanied by a case of beer - an
important part of any tech research, in my opinion.]

Links:
[1]: http://eandt.theiet.org/magazine/2014/06/hacking-lightbulb.cfm (link)
[2]: http://threatpost.com/android-root-access-vulnerability-affecting-most-devices (link)

[toc] | [standalone]

Back to top | Article view | comp.misc

csiph-web