A wonderful NSA document called Untangling the Web, thanks to a FOIA request, is now available and free for all to download and use. Although dated, the book will prove highly useful. If you company or client is exposing data that it shouldn’t to the public Internet, this book will help you find it, so [...]
All posts tagged hacking
The NSA’s guide to finding things on the Internet is available now
Posted by Dave Farquhar on May 10, 2013
http://dfarq.homeip.net/2013/05/the-nsas-guide-to-finding-things-on-the-internet-is-available-now/
“Computer Maintenance Department” called me again from India
So, “Peggy” from “Computer Maintenance Department” called me again last night. This time I decided to mess with him a bit more. This is the second time. (No, “Peggy” wasn’t his real name, nor did he identify himself as “Peggy,” but that’s the name I’ll use, thanks to that old Discover commercial.)
Posted by Dave Farquhar on May 9, 2013
http://dfarq.homeip.net/2013/05/computer-maintenance-department-called-me-again-from-india/
Putting right E.T. for the Atari 2600
Hacking vintage video games has been a popular trend this year, so I suppose it was only a matter of time before I saw this: A hobbyist spent a few weeks this year fixing the infamous E.T. cartridge for the Atari 2600, and kept a detailed analysis of the project. I found it interesting.
Posted by Dave Farquhar on April 6, 2013
http://dfarq.homeip.net/2013/04/putting-right-e-t-for-the-atari-2600/
The ethics of writing nefarious security instructions
This week I posted a link to a video showing how to crack a WPS-enabled wifi network, and this week, Ars Technica wrote a firsthand account of cracking a password list. I’m sure this raises questions of ethics in some people’s minds. To be honest, spreading this kind of information makes me a little uncomfortable [...]
Posted by Dave Farquhar on March 28, 2013
http://dfarq.homeip.net/2013/03/the-ethics-of-writing-nefarious-security-instructions/
No, it doesn’t take a “serious hacker” to crack wi-fi through WPS
John C Dvorak is raving in PC Magazine about Netgear wireless routers and range extenders and how easy WPS makes it to set them up–and providing some very seriously flawed security advice along the way. “Note that WPS is crackable by serious hackers using brute-force attack, but any SOHO user not dealing with government secrets [...]
Posted by Dave Farquhar on March 26, 2013
http://dfarq.homeip.net/2013/03/no-it-doesnt-take-a-serious-hacker-to-crack-wi-fi-through-wps/
CISPA is trying to solve a legitimate problem
I read yet another anti-CISPA piece today. I’m not comfortable trying to read it and decide whether it’s a good or bad piece of legislation, but I do understand the problem it’s trying to solve. Those who have tried to paint CISPA as the new SOPA or PIPA are misunderstanding the problem CISPA is trying [...]
Posted by Dave Farquhar on February 20, 2013
http://dfarq.homeip.net/2013/02/cispa-is-trying-to-solve-a-legitimate-problem/
CPE opportunity: Exploding the Phone
This week Cnet interviewed Phil Lapsley, the author of Exploding the Phone, a book about the early history of phone phreaking. Phone phreaking is absolutely fair game for the CISSP exam. I couldn’t tell you anymore how many phone phreaking questions I had to answer, but let me just say I’m glad I’d read those [...]
Posted by Dave Farquhar on February 17, 2013
http://dfarq.homeip.net/2013/02/cpe-opportunity-exploding-the-phone/
The lines between white hat/gray hat/black hat hacking and moral laws
Longtime reader/commenter Joseph asked two questions yesterday: What’s the boundary between gray and black-hat hacking, and is it moral to pick and choose between moral and immoral laws? The first question is easier than the second. So I’ll tackle that one first.
Posted by Dave Farquhar on January 26, 2013
http://dfarq.homeip.net/2013/01/the-lines-between-white-hatgray-hatblack-hat-hacking-and-moral-laws/
University computer science programs need to teach security, not demonize it
I saw this on Slashdot today: A computer science student was expelled from a Canadian university for practicing what most people would call white-hat hacking. Their reasoning: “Schools are supposed to teach best practice, which includes ethics and adherence to reasonable laws.”
Posted by Dave Farquhar on January 25, 2013
http://dfarq.homeip.net/2013/01/university-computer-science-programs-need-to-teach-security-not-demonize-it/
Questions from the logs
If one person uses a password, another will. That’s a popular hacking theory. If that’s true, then chances are if one person asks a question, another will. So here are three short questions (one completely unrelated to the others) I found in my logs over the weekend, and their answers.
Posted by Dave Farquhar on January 6, 2013
http://dfarq.homeip.net/2013/01/questions-from-the-logs/