6 private links
Why MAC Address Randomization is not Enough: An Analysis of Wi-Fi Network Discovery Mechanisms [PDF]
We present several novel techniques to track (unassociated)
mobile devices by abusing features of the Wi-Fi standard.
This shows that using random MAC addresses, on its own,
does not guarantee privacy.
Broadcom Wi-Fi chips embedded in Android and iOS devices are vulnerable to a bug that allows an attacker to execute code on their devices, without any interaction needed from the user.
Hackers built proof-of-concept malware that can spread from turbine to turbine to paralyze or damage them.
Latest Vault7 release exposes network-spying operation CIA kept secret since 2007.
Backdoor tied to espionage campaign that has targeted governments in 45 countries.
Another round of crappy journalism. It's not obscure, it's not a CPU feature but a platform feature, and there are plenty of out-of-band communication channels out there, this isn't the only one. On top of that, this was already published two DEF CONs ago.
You can exfil data and even do practival bi-directional communication over: SOL, IPMI, ASF, MT's ARC CPU via injected firmware and then via TCP/IP. Any of them will work. Add vendor-specific firmware addons on top of that (i.e. Broadcom tends to have exploitable firmware in their NIC controllers)
Most of them are in a vulnerable state by default because the technology was supposed to be 'easy' and 'user friendly', but 'users' don't even know what they are, and most deployments are done by the WinTel horde that doesn't actually know anything outside the Microsoft framework. (and thus leave the defaults as-is)
I probably posted something similar on https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11913379
Is it bad? Yes. Is it new? No. Is it ever reported on correctly? Also no.
Microsoft's security team has come across a malware family that uses Intel's Active Management Technology (AMT) Serial-over-LAN (SOL) interface as a file transfer tool.
Because of the way the Intel AMT SOL technology works, SOL traffic bypasses the local computer's networking stack, so local firewalls or security products won't be able to detect or block the malware while it's exfiltrating data from infected hosts.
MouseJack is a class of vulnerabilities that affects the vast majority of wireless, non-Bluetooth keyboards and mice. These peripherals are 'connected' to a host computer using a radio transceiver, commonly a small USB dongle. Since the connection is wireless, and mouse movements and keystrokes are sent over the air, it is possible to compromise a victim's computer by transmitting specially-crafted radio signals using a device which costs as little as $15.
An attacker can launch the attack from up to 100 meters away. The attacker is able to take control of the target computer, without physically being in front of it, and type arbitrary text or send scripted commands. It is therefore possible to perform rapidly malicious activities without being detected. The MouseJack exploit centers around injecting unencrypted keystrokes into a target computer. Mouse movements are usually sent unencrypted, and keystrokes are often encrypted (to prevent eavesdropping what is being typed). However the MouseJack vulnerability takes advantage of affected receiver dongles, and their associated software, allowing unencrypted keystrokes transmitted by an attacker to be passed on to the computer's operating system as if the victim had legitimately typed them.