Spybuster Tip # 823: Store Your Car Key Fobs in a Metal Can

Thieves have perfected the art of stealing the code from that key fob sitting on a kitchen counter or hung on a hook by the door. And tools that make theft fast and easy can be purchased on the internet. Worse, the latest theft devices allow criminals to amplify a vehicle's radio signal so that thieves can better access and copy the key fob signal to steal a vehicle...

The Relay Attack, a two-person attack, is when a thief walks up to the victim’s home with a piece of equipment that captures the signal from the key fob and then transmits the signal from a car key fob. "An accomplice waits nearby at the car door, usually with another device, to open the car when the signal is received," the AARP website said. The copied signal can fool the car into starting the ignition.

Spybuster Tip #823: Store your car key fobs in a metal container when not in use.

Your other fobs are at risk too. Learn more here.

Baby Monitors & Smart Speakers Enabling Abuse, say MPs

Fitness trackers, home security systems and baby monitors are among the devices that MPs warn are enabling the growing issue of tech-enabled domestic abuse.

The Culture, Media and Sport Committee says there are on average nine such "smart" products in UK homes. It found they were being used to "monitor, harass, coerce and control" victims by collecting recordings and images.

The MPs say the government must tackle the situation. (hear! hear!) more

Ring to pay $5.8M - Staff & Contractors - Snooping on Videos

Ring, the Amazon-owned maker of video surveillance devices, will pay $5.8 million over claims brought by the Federal Trade Commission that Ring employees and contractors had broad and unrestricted access to customers’ videos for years.

The settlement was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Wednesday. The FTC confirmed the settlement a short time later. News of the settlement was first reported by Reuters.

The FTC said that Ring employees and contractors were able to view, download, and transfer customers’ sensitive video data for their own purposes as a result of “dangerously over-broad access and lax attitude toward privacy and security.”

According to the FTC’s complaint, Ring gave “every employee — as well as hundreds of Ukraine-based third-party contractors — full access to every customer video, regardless of whether the employee or contractor actually needed that access to perform his or her job function.” The FTC also said that Ring staff and contractors “could also readily download any customer’s videos and then view, share, or disclose those videos at will.”

The FTC alleged on at least two occasions Ring employees improperly accessed the private Ring videos of women. In one of the cases, the FTC said the employee’s spying went on for months, undetected by Ring. more

“Is this a bug?” (updated)

“Is this a bug?” is a question we are often asked.

Usually the answer is, “I understand why you are asking is this a bug. Some bugs do look similar to this. But, here is what you actually found.”

Real electronic eavesdropping devices are getting smaller. So are lots of other little electronic bits which are part of our everyday lives. Distinguishing between the two can be tricky. If the object you found makes you think, is this a bug, keep reading. You stand a good chance of finding your answer here.

Getting Clocked Can Disable Your Wi-Fi Cameras

This cheap "watch" is used by hackers and thieves to disable Wi-Fi cameras, and other things connected to Wi-Fi access points. (It has some legitimate uses, too.)

Watch Functions
- Deauther Attack: Disconnect 2.4G WiFi
- Deauther Beacon: Create fake networks
- Deauther Probe: Confuse Wi-Fi trackers
- Packet Monitor: Display Wi-Fi traffic
- Kicks devices off a WiFi network- Spam beacon frames
- Spam probe requests

Additional background information about deauthentication attacks via Atlas VPN...

How Hackers Disable WiFi Cameras
A deauth or deauthentication attack (DoS) disrupts connections between users and Wi-Fi access points. The attackers force devices to lose access and then reconnect to a network they control. Then, perpetrators can track connections, capture login details, or trick users into installing rogue programs... this attack does not need unique skills or elaborate equipment. Deauth attacks could also knock devices offline, like home security software.

How it it Used?

• Forcing hidden cameras to go offline. Over the years, frequent disputes forced Airbnb to forbid the use of cameras in rented apartments or rooms. Yet, more cunning homeowners can conceal cameras from their guests.
• Hotels that push paid Wi-Fi. There have been incidents when hotels employed deauthentication attacks to promote their Wi-Fi services. In fact, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued documents stating that blocking or interfering with Wi-Fi hotspots is illegal. One of the first offenders was the Marriott hotel, with financial motives for disrupting visitors’ access points. However, charging perpetrators with deauthentication attacks is a rare sight. Usually, victims might blame the interruptions on unstable Wi-Fi.
• Susceptible smart devices. Criminals could push connected devices offline for several reasons. One danger is that attackers might disable security systems. Thus, such interruption halts monitoring of the home, office, or another area. In worst-case scenarios, such deauth attacks could facilitate burglars entering buildings. Another example comes from a vulnerability in Ring Video Doorbell Pro (now fixed). The exploited flaw means using a Wi-FI deauthentication attack to force the device to re-enter the configuration mode. Then, eavesdroppers can capture Wi-Fi credentials orchestrated to travel in an unencrypted HTTP.
• Forcing users to join evil twins. Spoofed deauthentication frames force targeted devices to drop their connection. It could be a way to break the legitimate connection and trick users into joining fake hotspots. Deauth attacks could flood the access point so that devices cannot join for a period of time.

Our Tips: How to Make Sure They Don't Disable Your WiFi Cameras
Tip 1. Don't go wireless, use Cat6a shielded cable.
Tip 2. Use Power over Ethernet (PoE). Make sure it is properly grounded.
Tip 3. Make sure the power supply to the network is backed-up (UPS). Power failures do happen.
Tip 4. Hide the cables to deter sabotage.
Tip 5. If you absolutely, positively need a wireless video solution consider using a 4G cellular camera, or a dedicated video link.

WiFi Camera Attack Prevention
The prevention of deauthentication attacks does not offer many options. But there are effective strategies for mitigating their impact. Ensure that your network applies WPA2 encryption. If you use a pre-shared key, it must be complex and lengthy to withstand threats like brute-force attacks. Another improvement might be 802.11w, which validates deauthentication frames and discards spoofed ones. Older hardware and IoT might not support it, raising issues for some Wi-Fi clients.

Furthermore, remember you have minimal control over free public Wi-Fi and its security.

A VPN can assist if deauthentication attacks force clients to connect to evil twins. Atlas VPN creates a secure path between users and access points. Encrypted traffic will prevent attackers from capturing any meaningful communications or data. more

IoT News: Data from Over 116.5 million Smart Devices Go Here

From rooftop to basement and the bedrooms in between, much of the technology making consumer products smart comes from a little-known Chinese firm, Tuya Inc. of Hangzhou. More than 5,000 brands have incorporated Tuya’s technology in their products... Smart home thermostats. Smart home security cameras. Smart refrigerators. Smart TVs. Smart pet feeders. Smart breast pumps...

Tuya says as of 2020, its services cover more than 1,100 categories, such as healthcare, agriculture and apartment management, and are sold in more than 220 countries and regions globally in over 116.5 million smart devices... including Dutch multinational Philips, and TCL, the Chinese electronics company that makes Roku TV, according to the company. Global retailers Amazon, Target and Walmart sell consumer products that use Tuya’s technology.

Some cybersecurity experts worry about the lack of protection for the consumer data collected by Tuya tech in household items and in products used in health care and hospitality. more

IoT Bug Impacts Millions of Devices - Allows Hackers to Spy on You

Security researchers have discovered a critical vulnerability affecting millions of IoT devices which could allow attackers to spy on you by tapping into real-time camera feeds.

The security issue impacts products from various manufacturers that provide video and surveillance solutions, as well as home automation IoT systems, which are all connected via ThroughTek’s Kalay IoT cloud platform.

American cybersecurity firm Mandiant revealed the CVE-2021-28372 bug after reporting it to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).

Because the Kalay platform is used by devices from a large number of manufacturers, it is difficult to create a list with the affected brands. Mandiant were unable to determine how many devices are affected, but they warned that more than 83 million users are currently using Kalay. more

An adversary would be able to remotely compromise an IoT device by exploiting the flaw and could compromise device credentials, watch real-time video data, and listen to live audio. more

PI Alert: Samsung is Crippling Your Latest Surveillance Trick

Samsung has announced that customers will soon be able to scan for unknown Galaxy SmartTags trackers using Samsung’s SmartThings Find service. The feature, called Unknown Tag Search, will be coming to the SmartThings app starting next week. 

Users will be able to scan the nearby area for any SmartTags that don’t belong to them but that are moving along with them. This feature could be a big win for safety, providing an easy way to make sure that nobody’s tracking you with a tiny SmartTag that they slipped in your backpack, purse, coat pocket, etc. It’s a nice feature if you’re concerned about the privacy or security implications of Tile-like tracking devices. more

Google Jumps into Your Nest with its Own New Nest

Google has launched a new ‘Nest Hub’ home assistant that tracks its owners’ sleep.

It comes in a range of colors, and can be ordered today. Like the existing Nest Hub, it can show photos and videos from Google’s owner services like YouTube and Google Photos, integrates with other services such as Netflix, and can be used to control the home.

But its standout feature is its new sleep tracking technology. To use it, the Nest Hub is supposed to be placed on a bedside table, so that it can monitor its owners as they sleep. 

It can not only track the amount of sleep, and how deep it is, but also other things that might disturb that sleep – as well as other people sharing the bed – such as coughing and snoring. more

Interesting points...
• Google says the recorded audio and raw Soli data stays on the device and does not get sent to Google, though extrapolated sleep event data is sent to the company’s servers.
• Sleep Sensing (Google’s name for sleep tracking) is completely opt-in and can be disabled at any time.
• This will be a paid feature.
For some people this will be helpful and worth it. For others, it is AI creepy creep.
Hackers, on your mark! ...

There Are Spying Eyes Everywhere...

 ...and Now They Share a Brain.

Security cameras. License plate readers. Smartphone trackers. Drones. We’re being watched 24/7. What happens when all those data streams fuse into one?

...it’s a mistake to focus our dread on each of these tools individually. In many places across the world, they’re all inputs for a system that, with each new plug-in, reaches a little closer to omniscience.

That idea—of an ever-expanding, all-knowing surveillance platform—used to be a technologist’s fantasy, like the hoverbike or the jetpack. To understand how this particular hoverbike will finally be built, I began by calling up the people who designed the prototype. more

iRobot Picked the Wrong Person to Roomba With!

One of our Blue Blaze irregulars alerted us to some slick social engineering.

He recently purchased an iRobot Roomba 960 Robot Vacuum Cleaner. He writes...

"What is "odd" is that when we first bought the thing we didn't have any screens requiring registration. Then about two weeks later the entire user interface changed that required registration. 

These two screens were strategically placed among "required information" even though this information was not mandatory. If you weren't paying attention you'd fill this out. Clever!"

I had a look at their Privacy Policy. Dig deep enough and you find this...

Some of our Robots are equipped with smart technology which allows the Robots to transmit data wirelessly to the Service...

• When you register your Robot with the online App, we collect information about the Robot, such as a Robot name (how cute) and device number, and information about the Robot and/or App usage (reveals when might you not be home), such as battery life and health.

• Certain Robot models are equipped to collect information about the environment in which the Robot is deployed. For example, the Robot collects information about the level of dirt detection and the Wi-Fi signal strength in each location and information about its movement throughout the environment to create a location ‘map’ of the Robot’s domain and the existence and type of objects (chair, desk, fridge etc.) or obstacles encountered.

 

Security Issues

1. Do you really want a map of your home and belongings sent who-knows-where?
2. Do you really want someone to know all your router information and password which connects to one of their apps on the internal side of your firewall?
3. What happens when their database gets hacked?
   

I am guessing you don't. I'm also guessing you didn't know this was going on in the Internet-of-Things.

Ah, for the good old Jetson days when robots only talked to themselves.

Digital Assistant Speakers Know More Than Just Their Names

As voice assistants like Google Assistant and Alexa increasingly make their way into internet of things devices, it’s becoming harder to track when audio recordings are sent to the cloud and who might gain access to them.

To spot transgressions, researchers at the University of Darmstadt, North Carolina State University, and the University of Paris Saclay developed LeakyPick, a platform that periodically probes microphone-equipped devices and monitors subsequent network traffic for patterns indicating audio transmission. 

They say LeakyPick identified “dozens” of words that accidentally trigger Amazon Echo speakers. more

More stories about Digital Assistant Speakers.

ADT Employee Had Access to Hundreds of Home Security Camera Streams, Lawsuit Alleges

Hundreds of ADT customers are suing the home-security firm after it admitted that a former employee gained unauthorized access to their systems over the last several years—including the live video streams of their in-home cameras. 

Two federal class-action lawsuits have been filed on behalf of the customers, The Dallas Morning News reports.

The employee was able to add his email address to customers’ accounts during home-service visits, according to the company. With his email address added to the accounts, he was then able to use the company’s mobile app to snoop on in-home security cameras. 

“Moments once believed to be private and inside the sanctity of the home are now voyeuristic entertainment for a third party,” the lawsuits state. “And worse, those moments could have been captured, shared with others, or even posted to the internet.”

ADT reportedly fired the employee after discovering the abuse, and said it brought in measures to prevent a similar incident from taking place in the future. more

Surveillance is Hot at CES 2020

At CES show, devices that see, hear, track people are promoted. Privacy concerns? Not so much.

From the face scanner that will check in some attendees to the cameras-everywhere array of digital products, the CES gadget show is all-in on surveillance technology...

All these talking speakers, doorbell cameras and fitness trackers come with the promise of making life easier or more fun, but they're also potentially powerful spying tools.

And the skeptics who raise privacy and security concerns can be easily drowned out in the flashy spectacle of gee-whiz technology. more

Your Smart TV is Spying on You — How to stop it...

Those smart TVs that sold for unheard of low prices over the holidays come with a catch. The price is super low, but the manufacturers get to monitor what you're watching and report back to third parties, for a fee.

 Or, in some cases, companies like Amazon (with its Fire TV branded sets from Toshiba and Insignia) and TCL, with its branded Roku sets, look to throw those same personalized, targeted ads at you that you get when visiting Facebook and Google.

It doesn't have to be this way. You have the controls to opt out. Within just a few clicks, you can stop the manufacturers from snooping on you in the living room... more and a bonus sing-a-long!

• He tried to stop smart devices spying on him. Here's why he failed. 
  
• Is Your Smart TV Spying on You? Warning From FBI

Get Ready for a Wild Security Ride in 2020

Drones are considered mainstream business tools and are used from surveillance and delivery to agriculture and mining.

In 2020, we will see hackers trying to find out what drones know, said Lavi Lazarovitz, group research manager at Cyberark. This information can be vital for intelligence gathering, government control, corporate espionage, and more. It also means CDOs need to consider a security framework when introducing devices like drones from the onset. (and other issues) more

Now Santa's Toys Know if You Are Naughty or Nice

Christmas is over, which means there may be a few extra toys for children in the house.

Cybersecurity experts are warning parents to pay attention to what kinds of toys their children are playing with, saying some could be capable of doing much more than what you're aware of.

...toys with Bluetooth or that can connect to Wi-Fi have the potential to not only spy on those playing with them but could also collect data later capable of predicting children's thoughts and behaviors. more

Trend Micro Reveals Security Worries for 2020

In 2020, tried-and-tested cyber crimes – such as extortion, obfuscation and phishing – will remain, but new risks will inevitably emerge.

Full 5G implementations will introduce new security threats and the increased migration to the cloud will see more organizations facing risks from their cloud and supply chain.

In addition, the sheer number of connected assets and infrastructures will open doors to threats, and fake images, videos, or audio will be used to manipulate enterprise business procedures.

This is according to a new report from security firm Trend Micro, titled: “The New Norm: Trend Micro Security Predictions for 2020.”

...of special interest to our clients...

IOT devices used for espionage, extortion.

Machine learning and AI will be abused to listen in on connected devices like smart TVs and speakers to snoop on personal and business conversations, which can then provide material for extortion or corporate espionage. more

With a Laser, Researchers Say They Can Hack Alexa and Other Assistants

Since voice-controlled digital assistants were introduced a few years ago, security experts have fretted that systems like Apple’s Siri and Amazon’s Alexa were a privacy threat and could be easily hacked.

But the risk presented by a cleverly pointed light was probably not on anyone’s radar.

Researchers in Japan and at the University of Michigan said Monday that they had found a way to take over Google Home, Amazon’s Alexa or Apple’s Siri devices from hundreds of feet away by shining laser pointers, and even flashlights, at the devices’ microphones. more

Holy Crap: IT Folks Fear the Internet Connected Toilet

IT security professionals are nervous people.

This seems clear from a new survey perpetrated on the part of the hardware security company nCipher...

The surveyors asked 1,800 IT security professionals in 14 countries about vital elements...

Thirty-six percent confessed they were afraid they'd be spied upon by an internet-connected device. The same number feared they'd have money stolen.

Twenty-four percent fear personal embarrassment as unholy information about them would be leaked.

I, though, feel a particular empathy for the 21% who are afraid that pranksters will hack their connected toilets. more