Take that, hackers! Quasar IV boasts hackproof Android greatness
An Interesting article in C/Net about Quasar IV boasts:
The subject of cell phone security haunts every major mobile player, but none so defiantly throws down the gauntlet to data thieves like the smartphone startup QSAlpha and its Quasar IV “cipherphone.”
A self-funded project launched Tuesday through Kickstarter-like Web site Indiegogo, the Quasar IV runs on a security backbone of hardware encryption that promises to only share data — e-mail, phone calls, and texts — with others who have a “trusted” identity using the same Quasar IV smartphone.
While the cybersecurity specs command the show (and more on that later), the strangely named Quasar IV is specced out with top-of-the-line Android goods.
Built on Android 4.3, the supersecure device starts with a 5-inch 1080p HD display, then adds to that a 2.3GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 CPU and either 64GB or 128GB encrypted local storage options. You’ll also get 128GB encrypted cloud storage on top of that.
The Quasar IV will also pack in 3GB RAM, a microSD card slot, and a 3,300mAh battery. Mobile photographers aren’t forgotten. There will be a pair of 13-megapixel Sony cameras (translation: augmented reality and processing tricks), and a whopping 8-megapixel front-facing camera.
To read more click here:
Phone and tablet unlocking – US government nudges it closer to law
A posting from Naked Security about Phone and tablet unlocking:
US citizens are now one step closer to being able to do (more or less) what they want with their gadgets – at least as far as choosing a wireless carrier goes.
On Thursday, six months after the White House publicly endorsed a citizens’ petition to regain the right to unlock smartphones and tablets so that they can be used on whichever wireless network the owner wishes, the government has set the ball rolling with a petition [PDF] to the Federal Communications Commission.
The petition, from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), asks the FCC to amend its rules so as to require carriers to unlock any wireless devices they sell, including smartphones and tablets.
To read more click here:
Microsoft Issues Emergency ‘Fix It’ For IE Amid Attacks
A posting from Dark Reading in there Attacks and Breaches section:
Security experts are urging users to apply newly released mitigations as a stop-gap while waiting for Microsoft to patch a newly discovered critical vulnerability in Internet Explorer.
Microsoft rushed out a Fix It tool yesterday in lieu of a patch after reports surfaced that attackers were using the vulnerability to target Internet Explorer 8 and 9. According to Microsoft, the vulnerability exists in the way that IE accesses an object in memory that has been deleted or has not been properly allocated. The vulnerability could corrupt memory in a way that could permit an attacker to execute code in the context of the current user within IE.
An attacker could exploit this issue through drive-by downloads, either by compromising a legitimate site or tricking a victim into clicking a malicious link in an email or instant message.
“It’s not clear how many legitimate sites, if any, may have been found serving this malware, but Microsoft is definitely taking notice,” says Ross Barrett, senior manager of security engineering at Rapid7. “Considering the timing, I would personally expect to see an out-of-band patch from Microsoft.”
Noting that the issue is believed to be present in all supported versions of Internet Explorer, he adds that it is possible that the vulnerability has been targeted for some time.
To read more click here:
SANS Cyber Defense Initiative (CD) 2013
Discover the SANS Cyber Defense Initiative (CDI) 2013 training event in Washington DC at the Washington Hilton on December 12-19.
More than 25 courses will be taught at SANS CDI 2013 in the following areas:
· IT security
· penetration testing
· security management
· computer forensics
· IT audit
This is your opportunity to:
Understand how the newest cyber attacks work and what you can do to prevent them or mitigate the damage.
Ensure that your tools are up to the task of finding, blocking, and deciphering hacking attacks.
Get the training you need to make your organization cyber secure.
SANS is the one educational organization known for developing the cybersecurity skills most in need right now. Every course, evening talk, and special event is designed to equip you with cutting-edge knowledge and skills required to combat today’s cyber criminals.
SANS Cyber Defense Initiative (CDI) 2013 is powered by NetWars Tournament Play and will also include the 2nd annual Tournament of Champions.
To learn more about SANS CDI 2013, or to register, please visit:
http://www.sans.org/info/139540
*** Receive 5% off you’re SANS course at CDI with discount code: SecOrb_05 ***
Online Dictionary Attack with Hydra
An interesting article from Dawid Czagan at InfoSec Institute:
1. Introduction
When an attacker wants to learn credentials for an online system, he can use brute force or a dictionary attack. This article introduces these two types of attack and explains how to launch an online dictionary attack using Hydra.
2. Brute Force vs. Dictionary Attack
An attacker can try every possible password combination (brute force approach). The advantage is guaranteed success in finding the right password. The drawback is that it is a very time-consuming process.
It’s probable that a typical user is frustrated about password best practices and uses a pattern for the password (for example a common word and a digit appended at the end). Then the attacker can build a set of common words concatenated with a digit (an exemplary pattern in the dictionary) and try every combination from this set. This approach (dictionary attack) can save the attacker’s time, because he doesn’t have to brute-force the whole key space. The disadvantage is that there is no guarantee that the right password will be found. However, the probability of hitting the right password is quite good, taking into account the passwords people often choose.
3. Environment
Hydra is described as a network logon cracker that supports many services [1]. This article explains how to use Hydra to launch an online dictionary attack against FTP and a web form.
Metasploitable is a Linux-based virtual machine that is intentionally vulnerable [2]. It can be used, for example, to practice penetration testing skills. Please remember that this machine is vulnerable and should not operate in bridge mode.
DVWA (Damn Vulnerable Web Application) is a web application that is intentionally vulnerable [3]. It is helpful for those who want to play with web application security stuff. DVWA is part of Metasploitable.
4. Dictionaries
Let’s create two short dictionaries for the simplicity of description.
List of users (list_user):
|
1
2
3
|
admin_1adminmsfadmin |
List of passwords (list_password)
|
1
2
3
4
|
password_1passwordmsfadminpassword_2 |
There are 12 combinations to check (3 users times 4 passwords). These combinations include default credentials for DVWA login form and Metasploitable FTP (admin/password for DVWA login form; msfadmin/msfadmin for Metasploitable FTP).
5. Metasploitable—Dictionary Attack on FTP
Use the following command to launch the attack:
|
1
|
dawid@lab:~$ hydra -L list_user -P list_password 192.168.56.101 ftp -V |
The aforementioned dictionaries (list_user and list_password) are used. The IP address of Metasploitable FTP server is 192.168.56.101. FTP is attacked. That’s why ftp module is used in the command. One should use -V to see username and password for each attempt.
As we can see below, Hydra has found one valid pair of username and password (username: msfadmin, password: msfadmin).
6. DVWA—Dictionary Attack on Login Form
Use the following command to launch the attack:
|
1
|
dawid@lab:~$ hydra -L list_user -P list_password 192.168.56.101 http-post-form "/dvwa/login.php:username=^USER^&password=^PASS^&Login=Login:Login failed" -V |
The aforementioned dictionaries (list_user and list_password) are used again. The IP address of DVWA is 192.168.56.101. The login form of DVWA is available in Metasploitable at 192.168.56.101/dvwa/login.php. When the user logs in, the following request is generated (intercepted by Burp Suite [4]):
The key parts were marked on the screenshot. They are the values of the parameters of http-post-form module:
Read more at the InfoSec Institute website here.
WordPress Security Update 3.6.1
WordPress, the most popular blogging and content management 
system has just released a security update. The update or maintenance release will replace the current 3.6 to 3.6.1, fixing 3 security vulnerabilities. One of the security vulnerabilities is a Remote Code Execution reported by a Belgian web application security researcher.
Fortunately, he hasn’t provided the complete disclosure stating:
Due to ethical considerations, I will not disclose a Proof of Concept of this exploit at this time, as there are too many vulnerable WordPress installations out there.
The other two vulnerabilities are:
- Prevent a user with an Author role, using a specially crafted request, from being able to create a post “written by” another user. Reported by Anakorn Kyavatanakij.
- Fix insufficient input validation that could result in redirecting or leading a user to another website. Reported by Dave Cummo, a Northrup Grumman subcontractor for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
More information can be located at the link below:
