Backdoors

18 May 2020

New BIAS attack works agaisnt Bluetooth devices and firmware from Apple, Broadcom, Cypress, Intel, Samsung, and others.

Academics have disclosed today a new vulnerability in the Bluetooth wireless protocol, broadly used to interconnect modern devices, such as smartphones, tablets, laptops, and smart IoT devices. The vulnerability, codenamed BIAS ( Bluetooth Impersonation Attack S), impacts the classic version of the
29 Mar 2020

Saudi Arabia appears to be exploiting weaknesses in the global mobile telecoms network to track its citizens as they travel around the US, according to a whistleblower who has shown the Guardian millions of alleged secret tracking requests.

Data revealed by the whistleblower, who is seeking to expose vulnerabilities in a global messaging system called SS7, appears to suggest a systematic spying campaign by the kingdom, according to experts.

The data suggests that millions of secret tracking requests emanated from Saudi Arabia over a four-month period beginning in November 2019.

The tracking requests, which sought to establish the US location of Saudi–registered phones, appeared to originate from Saudi’s three biggest mobile phone companies.

The whistleblower said they were unable to find any legitimate reason for the high volume of the requests for location information. “There is no other explanation, no other technical reason to do this. Saudi Arabia is weaponising mobile technologies,” the whistleblower claimed. The data leaked by
13 Sep 2017

Questions are being raised again about the security of Bluetooth after researchers uncovered another flaw that could potentially compromise billions of devices.

Armis published details of the Bluetooth vulnerability it is calling ‘Blueborne’. The attack disguises itself as a Bluetooth device and exploits a weaknesses in the protocol to deploy malicious code.

“The BlueBorne attack vector requires no user interaction, is compatible to all software versions, and does not require any preconditions or configurations aside of the Bluetooth being active,” warned the researchers. “Unlike the common misconception, Bluetooth enabled devices are constantly
06 Feb 2020

On November 3rd, 2019, [...] a critical vulnerability affecting the Android Bluetooth subsystem [was reported]. This vulnerability has been assigned CVE-2020-0022 and was now patched in the latest security patch from February 2020 .

On November 3rd, 2019, [...] a critical vulnerability affecting the Android Bluetooth subsystem [was reported]. This vulnerability has been assigned CVE-2020-0022 and was now patched in the latest security patch from February 2020. The security impact is as follows: On Android 8.0 to 9.0, a remote
15 Mar 2018
The small, portable GrayKey box, costing $15,000 for an internet-connected version tied to a specific location or $30,000 for an offline version usable anywhere, takes two minutes to install proprietary software designed to guess an iPhone's passcode. Intended for use by law enforcement officials
30 Jan 2018
As a gift in 2012, the Chinese government built the African Union's $200 million Addis Ababa headquarters, where African ministers and heads of state meet twice a year to discuss major continental issues. In 2017, Le Monde Afrique discovered that the building's computer systems incorporated an
11 Sep 2017
On September 11, 2017, while Florida residents were evacuating during the approach of Hurricane Irma, Tesla rolled out a real-time software update that increased the battery capacity of some of its Model S sedans and Model X SUVs. The update extended the vehicles' range, enabling drivers to travel