This is overblown, isn't it? That thing can't do anything that a public wifi couldn't, and yet everyone connects their laptops to those without hassle. SSL is nearly everywhere now...
I still wouldn't use a public wifi without a VPN...
Found hooked up to my router
221–230 of 358 posts
Re: Found hooked up to my router
#222This is overblown, isn't it? That thing can't do anything that a public wifi couldn't, and yet everyone connects their laptops to those without hassle. SSL is nearly everywhere now...
Test how many SSL connections go the extra mile and secure themselves against Man in the Middle attacks. You'll be surprised.
Re: Found hooked up to my router
#223Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Am I supposed to strictly segment everything? To be honest, I found that easier than prudence and caution. New access point, stick all my IoT devices on there, then I don't have to particularly worry about what they are doing, they can't access anything interesting anyway (no outbound traffic, inbound traffic is only allowed from one device on my LAN).
> they can't access anything interesting anyway A "smart" TV is presumably running content ID on everything that shows up on its screen, a fitness tracker is (of necessity) monitoring your physical activity, ... you get the picture. I'm not paranoid that someone is tracking me in particular , or even that they would find anything interesting if they did (I'm really pretty boring in the greater scheme of things). Rath…
> A "smart" TV is presumably running content ID on everything that shows up on its screen
And? There's no outbound traffic, so it can't do anything with it. The only risk is if it caches everything indefinitely and if I happen to connect to another network. I should have added that anything that _needs_ Internet access gets vetted much more closely.
I was also thinking more of home automation like devices, where it does _almost_ eliminate the risk. It can't access my main network, so it can't see any of my traffic, it can't phone home, and I don't have to worry about security vulnerabilities (it's not exposed to the Internet, so you'd probably have to compromise my main device first-at which point I have bigger problems and even if it was compromised it can't initiate any outward connections, blocking, e.g., its use in a botnet).
Re: Found hooked up to my router
#224This is overblown, isn't it? That thing can't do anything that a public wifi couldn't, and yet everyone connects their laptops to those without hassle. SSL is nearly everywhere now...
Exactly. Came here to post this and ask what I'm missing.
You might be looking at the difference between HN and reddit as a community
Re: Found hooked up to my router
#225Earlier quoted context omitted.
so the spoofer distributing these devices is going to all this trouble/expense/risk in the hope there is a http downloaded exe it can corrupt, then hopes the hashing doesn't fail on that corrupt exe, and hopes the user ignores the untrusted source warning so that it can install a trojan?
If you download putty, it comes from an http link. Try it right now
I was shocked, so I went and checked and it seems like it is https.
https://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/releases/...
has link
Re: Found hooked up to my router
#226Earlier quoted context omitted.
Product idea: internal condoms for every USB port on a business computer. Let employees charge their phones in USB ports or plug whatever in, data wires never connect - problem solved: Employees can charge their ${device} without risking security compromise of the host workstation.
Caveat: you'll need to hire a lot more IT people because everyone in the company will be lined up out the door with complaints. "This computer doesn't work with my keyboard, I need a new one." "My mouse isn't working." "This computer won't read my flash drive and I have to get this file to accounting by 10:00!" "This computer isn't working with my pen tablet and the deadline for getting these graphics done is tomorro…
Disabling USB ports, for example in the BIOS, is very common in larger corporations. Dell sell a secure cover to prevent access to the rear ports.
The person with the accounting data on a USB stick will get a formal reprimand for breaking the security policy.
Re: Found hooked up to my router
#227Earlier quoted context omitted.
That's assuming the box can generate certificates trusted by the target machines - there's a reason the CN field exists.
> That's assuming the box can generate certificates trusted by the target machines - there's a reason the CN field exists. If you're dumb enough to install one of these boxes on your network, you might also be dumb enough to install an attacker-provided root certificate on your PC.
But if you ask your user to install a CA, why not simply ask him to install malware?
Is it to circumvent antivirus?
Re: Found hooked up to my router
#228Earlier quoted context omitted.
Product idea: internal condoms for every USB port on a business computer. Let employees charge their phones in USB ports or plug whatever in, data wires never connect - problem solved: Employees can charge their ${device} without risking security compromise of the host workstation.
How is that better than epoxy squirted into all unused ports of your existing computers while also distributing fast charging USB wall warts across the office like confetti? Even the good ones are relatively cheap, especially if bought in bulk. Relative to the cost of a desktop computer they're practically free. (I'm genuinely surprised that the standard DELL and HP corporate workstation doesn't have its front USB po…
How do you know the wall wart is not a fake one?
Re: Found hooked up to my router
#229Earlier quoted context omitted.
> they can't access anything interesting anyway A "smart" TV is presumably running content ID on everything that shows up on its screen, a fitness tracker is (of necessity) monitoring your physical activity, ... you get the picture. I'm not paranoid that someone is tracking me in particular , or even that they would find anything interesting if they did (I'm really pretty boring in the greater scheme of things). Rath…
> A "smart" TV is presumably running content ID on everything that shows up on its screen And? There's no outbound traffic, so it can't do anything with it. The only risk is if it caches everything indefinitely and if I happen to connect to another network. I should have added that anything that _needs_ Internet access gets vetted much more closely. I was also thinking more of home automation like devices, where it d…
Whoops, just reread your previous comment and somehow I missed the "no outbound traffic" part. That would indeed seem to largely eliminate the issue, although I wonder how long it will be until devices start communicating with each other wirelessly to exfiltrate cached data. I realize that last sentence sounds paranoid, but nonetheless it would already appear to be well on its way to a home near you. For example (http://www.m-87.com/),
> Our software for the Internet of Things creates a Proximate Internet, intelligently discovering and connecting edge devices when they are in offline environments with poor or non-existent network connectivity. This opens up new edge networking solutions for data trapped in IoT sensors, controllers, or mobile computing devices in challenging environments.
I'm willing to bet your cell phone has a data connection, and while I'm sure yours is running LineageOS or an equivalent, what about that friend you invited over for dinner later?
Re: Found hooked up to my router
#230This is overblown, isn't it? That thing can't do anything that a public wifi couldn't, and yet everyone connects their laptops to those without hassle. SSL is nearly everywhere now...
Test how many SSL connections go the extra mile and secure themselves against Man in the Middle attacks. You'll be surprised.
All of them, since that's an explicit design goal of SSL/TLS?