Metasploit extends pen testing to IoT

February 7, 2017 Leave a comment

metasRapid7 has updated its Metasploit Framework to allow for IoT hardware security testing, in a bid to improve security in the ever-expanding Internet of Things.

Security testers can now directly link hardware to the widely used framework – a vital pre-requisite for the development of safer, more secure IoT systems.

The update removes the need for security professionals to create custom tools for each product they wanted to test with Metasploit, making things quicker and easier all round, according to Rapid7.

Cesare Garlati, Chief Security Strategist at the prpl Foundation commented below.

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The Journey to a Secure Internet of Things Starts Here

January 15, 2016 3 Comments

IoT Security Guidance

As the Internet of Things finds its way into ever more critical environments – from cars, to airlines to hospitals – the potentially life-threatening cyber security implications must be addressed. Over the past few months, real world examples have emerged showing how proprietary connected systems relying on outdated notions of ‘security-by-obscurity’ can in fact be reverse engineered and chip firmware modified to give hackers complete remote control. The consequences could be deadly.

A new approach is needed to secure connected devices, which is exactly what the prpl Foundation is proposing in its new document: Security Guidance for Critical Areas of Embedded Computing. It lays out a vision for a new hardware-led approach based on open source and interoperable standards. At its core is a secure boot enabled by a “root of trust” anchored in the silicon, and hardware-based virtualization to restrict lateral movement.

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How to Fix the Internet of Broken Things

November 20, 2015 2 Comments

iot-securityThe Internet of Things is already permeating every part of our lives – from healthcare to aviation, automobiles to telecoms. But its security is fundamentally broken. In my previous blog I’ve shown how vulnerabilities found by security researchers could have catastrophic consequences for end users. This isn’t just about data breaches and reputational damage anymore – lives are quite literally on the line. The challenges are many: most vendors operate under the misapprehension that security-by-obscurity will do – and lobby for laws preventing the disclosure of vulnerabilities; a lack of security subject matter expertise creates major vulnerabilities; firmware can too easily be modified; and a lack of separation on the device opens up further avenues for attackers.

But there is something we as an industry can do about it – if we take a new hardware-led approach. This is all about creating an open security framework built on interoperable standards; one which will enable a “root of trust” thanks to secure boot capabilities, and restrict lateral movement with hardware-based virtualization.

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The Security Challenges Threatening to Tear the Internet of Things Apart

November 4, 2015 3 Comments

IoT SecurityThe Internet of Things (IoT) has the power to transform our lives, making us more productive at work, and happier and safer at home. But it’s also developing at such a rate that it threatens to outstrip our ability to adequately secure it. A piece of software hasn’t been written yet that didn’t contain mistakes – after all, we’re only human. But with non-security experts designing and building connected systems the risks grow ever greater. So what can be done?

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Securing The Internet of (broken) Things: A Matter of Life and Death

October 6, 2015 1 Comment

Securing the Internet of broken thingsIf you’re like me you’ll probably be getting desensitized by now to the ever-lengthening list of data breach headlines which have saturated the news for the past 24 months or more. Targeted attacks, Advanced Persistent Threats and the like usually end up in the capture of sensitive IP, customer information or trade secrets. The result? Economic damage, board level sackings and a heap of bad publicity for the breached organization. But that’s usually where it ends.

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The Data Breach Pandemic: Information Security is Broken

June 8, 2015 Leave a comment

Verizon Data Breach Report 2015Have enterprises basically just given up on IT security? Global budgets fell by 4% in 2014 over the previous year and as a percentage of total IT budget they’ve remained at 4% or less for the past five years. The picture is even starker for firms with revenues of less than $100m, who claim to have reduced security budgets 20% since 2013.

Yet the threats keep on escalating. When it comes to information security, there are really only two situations out there: companies that have been breached, and companies that still don’t know it.

If 2014 was the “Year of the Data Breach” then 2015 is proving to be at least its equal. This month alone we’ve seen TV stations shunted off air by pro-jihadi cyber terrorists; the discovery of major new state-backed attack groups; and another massive data breach at a US healthcare provider.

We talk today about managing risk, rather than providing 100% security – because there’s no such thing. The conclusion I have reached is that the traditional information security model is broken. But why? And how can we fix it?

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