Network Security Blog

Christmas is over!  I hope yours was good, but I personally find the whole build up and let down stressful and I’m glad when it’s done with.  Especially the part where my kids are home from school for a week and whine every time I tell them to get out of the house for a little while before I have to hurt them.  Not that I’d actually hurt my kids, but it’s sometimes the only threat that will get them moving. 

There have been some interesting stories leading up to Christmas and it’ll be interesting to see what’s been happening behind the scenes while the majority of us have been chomping on candy and ripping open our presents.  I have nothing to support the theory yet, but I strongly suspect most of the bad guys left their tools running while they took some time off, so their might be reports of compromises in the not too distant future.  After all, there were a couple of reports that came out before the weekend, perhaps hoping to get ignored and bypassed in Christmas craziness.

A quick thought on the boycott of GoDaddy over the SOPA legislation.  GoDaddy is such a minor player in this realm and probably signed on to the legislation like a little brother following his older brother, Big Media; they wanted to sound and act cool in the eyes of everyone else without having the faintest idea that what they were doing had real world consequences.  Boycotting GoDaddy is like bullying the little brother when what you really want to do is punch the elder brother in the eye!  It’s ineffective, both in the long run and in the short term, to boycott GoDaddy when what we should really be doing is making the larger players behind SOPA aware this is an evil and unacceptable way to try to regulate the internet.  A crowdsourced version of the list of supporters on the list is available as a Google doc.  If you really want to do something important, boycott some of the big boys on the list and quit going to their movies and buying their products. 

Open Tabs – 12/26/11

• Chinese computer hackers hit U.S. Chamber of Commerce – I wonder what our hackers are doing to the Chinese behind the scenes.  Not the vocal ones on the con scene, the ones employed by the Three Letter Agencies.  Never mind, we don’t do that, do we.
• LOIC (Low Orbit Ion Cannon) – DoS attacking tool – The tool is old news, but this is a pretty good writeup.  If you want to know more though, one of my co-workers could tell you a few things more about how it works.
• The Thought Leader … One year later – Chris Eng’s further harpooning of the information security thought leaders.  I know about half of the video applies to me at least as much as it does anyone else. 
• How hackers gave Subway a $30 million lesson in point-of-sale security – There’s another meaning for POS, especially when you don’t bother changing default passwords and trust owners to follow procedures.
• The Dark side of B-Sides – I’m staying out of this fight, since I know all the players.  But I know there’s a lot of truth to both sides of the stories, and the sooner this can be opened up and the aired out, the better for everyone involved.
• Hackers steal data on millions of Chinese net users – No need for nefarious government hackers when criminals will hack into Chinese sites because they data they hold might be worth something.
• Insurance against cyber attacks expected to boom – Let’s just insure our systems rather than taking the time to secure them!  Because the insurance companies won’t place caveats on what’s ensured and what constitutes a breach of contract to include poor maintenance control, will they?  “What do you mean our insurance doesn’t cover this?” is a phrase I expect to hear once cyber insurance (I shudder at the name) becomes common place.
• Congress calls on Twitter to block Taliban – Oh yeah, because it takes so much to set up another account and tell everyone to go there instead.  And because censorship should always be one of the first tools used by a free, democratic system.  These people spend too much time thinking in hyperbole and too little time thinking in reality.

Long night last night.  We went to something called a pirate gift party; sort of like a white elephant gift (cheap, person A can take a gift from the table or steal from person B) except most of the gifts were wrapped in tinfoil cleverly disguised to hide their true nature.  Two minor variations from a normal white elephant gift is that there is no limit to the number of times gifts can be stolen per turn and no one gets to open the gifts until the last gift is chosen from the table.  This led to an interesting ‘defense’ strategy; since there was a gift that was wrapped to look like Thor’s Hammer that my Spawn wanted, they worked together to make sure they kept it at all cost.  Basically, when person A stole the hammer from whoever was holding it, that Spawn would steal his brother’s gift, and that Spawn would steal the hammer back.  This was a pretty good strategy, until Spawn1 lost concentration at one point and went after a different shiny object.  It all ended up good in the end, though another pair challenged the Spawn to a game of endurance to see who wanted the hammer the most.  It ended up being a 15 minute round robin of gifts being stolen and restolen that left everyone laughing.  Oh, and “Thor’s Hammer” ended up being a cleverly disguised box with chocolate and money in it, with a broom handle that was acting as the handle.

Oh, and very importantly, It’s that time of the year! Security Bloggers Meetup invites have gone out.

Open Tabs 12/18/11:

• California creates special unit to fight computer crimes – It’s about time.
• Silicon Valley execs blast SOPA in open letter – I’m afraid that no matter how much we blast this piece of crud, it’s going to happen.  They’ll slip it by us some day, just watch.
• Mandates can’t alter facts – Here’s the letter itself, explaining why SOPA wouldn’t work in the long run
• China-based hacking of 760 companies reflects an undeclared Cyber Cold War – At least they didn’t say ‘APT’. 
• China’s cyberwar - More on the situation with China
• French President’s residence ‘busted’ for BitTorrent piracy – I wonder what it would look like if we started looking at our own Congressmen’s IP’s in YouHaveDownloaded.com?
• Researchers:  Google gamed browser report that dissed Firefox – NSS Labs is disputing findings in a recent report by Accuvant.  

When Rich isn’t around to take up most of the time, Zach can actually
be pulled out of his shell to talk for a little while.  Or maybe it’s
just when there are two hosts on the podcast there’s more time to talk. 
In any case, Martin and Zach went a little long this week as well as
deep into paranoia land.  And there’s so much in the news right now to
push us there.  It’s kind of scary when you start to realize that as
much communication as modern technologies allow, they also allow a lot
of very deep surveillance.  Which we as a society seem to be okay with.

Network Security Podcast, Episode 261, December 6, 2011
Time: 42:13

Show Notes:

• India asks Google, Facebook to screen user content
  
• Carrier IQ:  The Real Story
  
• 9 Reasons Wired readers should wear their tinfoil hats
  
• The impact of cloud computing on IT jobs
  
• C|Net Download.com is now bundling Nmap with malware!
  
• RIM issues statement about the Playbook Dingleberry root
  
• Top 25 security influencers you should be following
  
• Tonight’s music:  Echoes and Falls by Senor Happy (in honor of the echo chamber)

There’s this game called Skyrim that’s been taking up all my ‘free’ time.  The only thing that’s kept me from being completely sucked in is the fact that my eldest son keeps asking, “When is it my turn to play?”  That and the fact that my other half keeps bringing up Christmas and my commitments as far as decorating and present shopping go.  Tis the season to avoid the malls and spend time online shopping instead.  Speaking of which, my coworkers have a thing or two to say about the holiday shopping season, which is once again morphing into something bigger, yet different, than it was ten years ago.  I love working at a place that has so much access to data about what’s really happening on the Internet.  Hopefully you’ll hear more on that early next year.

Open Tabs 12/5/11:

• 9 Reasons Wired readers should wear tinfoil hats – Except tinfoil actually improves reception for the mind altering rays!  Try a grounded wire mesh instead.
• Carrier IQ’s own marketing claims undercut its defense – Hard to say “We don’t invade users’ privacy” when all your marketing slicks say otherwise.
• Carrier IQ admits holding ‘treasure trove’ of consumer data, but no keystrokes – Yes, we invade your privacy, but only a little.
• Measure twice, cut once – Accuvant Labs is starting to do some fun stuff with vulnerability research.
• Spammers act just like HIV virus in avoiding filters – Why specific to HIV?  Because it was being given at on World AIDS Day.
• Feds seize domains of Korean movie portals – Why is DHS in charge of copyright infringement policing?  Don’t they have better things to do, like protecting us from terrorists?
• The impact of cloud computing on IT jobs – Why yes, a disruptive technology like the Cloud is going to cause some people to lose jobs.  And some people to get jobs.

I got home Sunday from 3 days in Las Vegas, two of which were spent at the first ever Minecon.  For those of you who aren’t the parents of Minecraft addicts or addicts yourselves, it’s a game where you create a whole world then mine it for resources and build just about anything you can imagine.  It’s multiplayer, sometimes massively so, and it’s very easy to set up your own server and be hosting it for the world in a matter of hours.  Unluckily, it may be too easy; people who can barely figure out what their IP address is are setting up servers on their desktops then sharing their systems with friends via Hamachi or simply opening their home network to the world. It’s enough to give a security professional an aneurism!  I wrote up my own experience in creating a cloud server for Minecraft in April, but that server never caught on with the kids.  So now I’m trying a different solution, MineOS Crux, a custom build distribution of Ubuntu specifically created for people who want a secure, lightweight Minecraft installation.  I’m running it as a VM on my Mac Mini server and exposing it to the world on a non-standard port, plus I locked down the distro a little more than the standard build.  I’m still more than a little paranoid about it, so if the kids aren’t using it, it’ll go away.

Oh, and the kids got me to start playing Minecraft as well.  Good thing there are a lot of long holiday weekends coming up.

Open Tabs 11/22/11:

• Death by Exception – As a recovering QSA (the taint doesn’t wash off), I can sympathize with Michelle’s frustration with exceptions.  It really isn’t an ‘exception’ once it becomes the rule.
• The “Off the Record” track – There’s really no such thing as “off the record”.  But for some reason, I’ve noticed that people become more guarded and less likely to talk when they first 
• AT&T tells users of ‘organized and systematic’ hack attempt – Glad to see they’re warning people and not invoking the “APT” card.  Yet.
• Hacker says Texas town used three character password to secure internet facing SCADA system – I wonder if the three letters were “APT”? 

Whether you call it Veteran’s Day, Pocky Day,Binary Day or something else, it’s Friday, I don’t know about you, but I’m looking forward to this weekend and spending some time with friends.  Being a parent, I don’t get out for adult time as much as I once did, which makes the rare occassions all that much more special.

If you know a veteran, today would be a good day to tell them thanks.  I ‘repaired’ radios long ago and far away on a little artillery base in Germany.  I put repair in quotes because our job was to say “Yep, it’s broken”, replace the radio and send the broken one off for repair by someone who actually did electronics troubleshooting.  I was lucky and my enlistment was during a relatively peaceful time, but we have hundreds of thousands vets out there who saw events and actions most of us can’t even imagine.  Please respect them for their sacrifices.

I haven’t done this in a few days, so there’s a lot of built up articles.

Open Tabs 11/11/11:

• Anonymous blasts El Salvador offline – I guess they found some soft targets.  
• How your signature can propel your security career – How are you putting your signature on the security at your company?  Don’t do what everyone else has done.
• Top 10 Security Voices on Twitter – I didn’t like @jgamblins list; half of the accounts on it are businesses.  Who would be on your Top 10 Security Voices list?
• Supreme Court justices concerned about pervasive, technology-enabled government surveillance – As they should be!  Wait until the government admits they’re also turning on the microphones and other sensors in your phone.  And don’t think they aren’t.  
• Judges weigh phone tracking – A little more to feed your paranoia.
• Doom, gloom and infosec – Of course our career field isn’t all feces and stench, but it’s not roses and cake either.  
• Cisco CSO:  Infosec pros should get back to basics – Yes, let’s quit buying all of Cisco’s blinky light solutions and get back to patching and policy.  That’s what he meant, isn’t it?
• ‘Biggest cybercriminal takedown in history’ – The hyperbole isn’t Brian Krebs’, but the rest of the article is some great stuff.  DNS can be dangerous stuff.
• Steam database hacked.  Encrypted credit card information and passwords compromised – First thing I had the spawn do when they got home from school yesterday was change their passwords!

I had a great time at BSides DFW this weekend!  Michelle Klinger, Joseph Sokoly and the whole crew of volunteers who made the event happen did such an awesome job of putting it together and the Microsoft tech center was the perfect place to have it.  Not that Jayson Street didn’t make a few of the security guards nervous from time to time.  And the rest of us nervous when he thought no one was watching where he was thinking of getting into.  I gave the closing key note speech, which went well despite the fact I was as nervous as I think it’s possible for me to be.  It’s worth giving the talk again some time, after I’ve tightened it up and loosened up a bit myself.  Just remember to challenge all our current security wisdom.

Saturday was November 5th, Guy Faulkes day, and despite it being a high holiday for Anonymous, nothing much seems to have happened.  They did pop Adidas last week, but that was supposedly a prequel to their main event this weekend.  On a more positive note, Brad Smith is doing slightly better, though he is still comatose and has pnemonia.  If you can, spare a few dollars to help Brad and his wife pay for medical bills; if you can’t, keep him in your prayers.  Brad has helped a lot of people in the security community and it’s time to help him in return.

Open Tabs 11/08/11

• Pictures from BSidesDFW – I’m the big guy in the green BSides SF shirt.  I know I don’t look like I sound.
• It pays to be the face of Anonymous – “Now my weed dealer won’t come by….” You can’t make this stuff up!
• Hackers worming way into utilities – No surprise to us, but maybe the idea will worm it’s way into the mind of someone who can do something about it.
• Feds try to prevent War of the Worlds-style panic over national emergency alert – This is a test.  This is only a test.  Please don’t panic!
• Ex-U.S. general urges frank talk on cyber weapons – We’re behind the curve and maybe behind the eight ball.
• De-lousing E-PARASITE – More on this moronic legislation
• Down the Rabbithole Episode 5 – I love Brian Stiekes thinking.  We both think information security is fundamentally broken.
• iPhone security bug lets innocent-looking apps go bad – And Apple shoots Charlie Miller (or at least his developer account) for being the messenger.

It’s almost time to hop in the car and head for #BSidesDFW (I even think in hashtags some days) in about an hour.  I find it annoying that I have to leave the house about 3 hours before my flight to have any chance of making it, since it takes 90 minutes to get to the airport and about 45 minutes to get through the TSA checkpoint most of the time.  I was joking around on Twitter earlier this week and said I’d vote for the first Presidential candidate, Republican or Democrat, who promised to abolish the TSA; it turned out that Ron Paul had already made that promise, but we’ll see if he’s still slugging it out by the time the primaries roll around.  In any case, I need to get packed up and head out.  I’m going to try to get a few interviews at BSidesDFW for the podcast, since there are so many interesting people speaking tomorrow. 

Open Tabs 11/04/11:

• Untrusted Certificate Store to be updated – Microsoft delists another certificate authority
• DHS looking for a new CISO – If you want the role, more power to you!  I wouldn’t touch it with a 10′ pole, personally
• Security Ostriches and Disintermediation – Big words from Mike Rothman about HD Moore’s Law
• CIA following Twitter, Facebook – Why would this surprise anyone in the security field?
• China scorns U.S. cyber espionage charges – Another big surprise, China is denying any wrong doing and acting all indignant.  
• Syria crackdown aided by U.S.-Europe spy gear – There’s more and more evidence that US technologies are being used to support oppressive regimes.  And I don’t think it will stop any time soon. 
• Most firms don’t coordinate security planning – We need to learn to integrate better with the board room, that’s a fact.
• Mike Dahn and me from Hacker Halted – I’m going to close my eyes and ears, I can’t stand to see myself in video. 

This week’s podcast conversation with HD Moore and Josh Corman was a good thing.  Getting the ideas of “HD Moore’s Law“, the security poverty line and security debt out there so other people can beat on the ideas, examine them for flaws and hopefully incorporate portions of the concepts into their own thinking.  This is, after all, the whole reason I started blogging and podcasting in the first place.

Open Tabs 11/03/11:

• An open letter to Chris Dodd:  Silicon Valley can’t help Hollywood if you first cripple it with bad regulation – More on the horrible legislation that’s currently being considered.
• Debating human rights in the IT industry – The last few years have shown us exactly how important the Internet and computers are to basic human freedoms in the 21st century.
• Anonymous cancels Operation Cartel as Los Zetas track hacktivists – Good call.  The government isn’t going to kill you and hang your body from a bridge; these guys will.  I hope it wasn’t too late of a call. 
• Researchers flood Facebook with bots, collect 250Gb of user data – People were more willing to friend someone who’s got a hot picture?  Color me unsurprised.
• Kill Switch – Still more on the horrible idea of the Protect IP law.  Yes, this topic annoys the heck out of me and scares me with it’s ignorance.
• BayThreat speakers announced – Last year’s event was great, I have to believe this year’s will be even better.
• HouSecCon going on now, BSidesATL tomorrow and I’m closing out BSidesDFW on Saturday!  What a full weekend!

Tonight Martin is speaking to Josh Corman, Akamai co-worker, and HD Moore, creator of Metasploit and Rapid7 CTO.  Josh came up with the idea of HD Moore’s Law a couple of months ago, the idea that the strength of the casual attacker is roughly equivalent to what Metasploit is capable of.  If your corporation isn’t capable of defending yourself against Metasploit, you’re not going to be able to defend against these casual attacker and you’re going to be wide open to more sophisticated attackers.  Josh explains the concept and what it means to security and HD talks about the fact that Metasploit helps give security teams a measuring stick for their security.

Zach, Rich and Martin are all incredibly busy and are trying to figure out how to fit the podcast into the constraints of our schedules.  We may have to skip a number more weeks between now and the end of the year, but we’re trying desperately to get our lives under control.

Network Security Podcast, Episode 257
Time:  30:09

Show Notes:

• HD Moore’s Law – Josh’s blog post
• Metasploit project