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Air-Gapped Devices Can Send Covert Morse Signals via Network Card LEDs

Air-Gapped Devices Can Send Covert Morse Signals via Network Card LEDs

Aug 24, 2022
A security researcher who has a long line of work demonstrating novel data exfiltration methods from air-gapped systems has come up with yet another technique that involves sending Morse code signals via LEDs on network interface cards ( NICs ). The approach, codenamed  ETHERLED , comes from Dr. Mordechai Guri , the head of R&D in the Cyber Security Research Center in the Ben Gurion University of the Negev in Israel, who recently outlined  GAIROSCOPE , a method for transmitting data ultrasonically to smartphone gyroscopes. "Malware installed on the device could programmatically control the status LED by blinking or alternating its colors, using documented methods or undocumented firmware commands," Dr. Guri said. "Information can be encoded via simple encoding such as Morse code and modulated over these optical signals. An attacker can intercept and decode these signals from tens to hundreds of meters away." A network interface card, also known as a netwo
Brutal Kangaroo: CIA-developed Malware for Hacking Air-Gapped Networks Covertly

Brutal Kangaroo: CIA-developed Malware for Hacking Air-Gapped Networks Covertly

Jun 22, 2017
WikiLeaks has published a new batch of the ongoing Vault 7 leak , this time detailing a tool suite – which is being used by the CIA for Microsoft Windows that targets "closed networks by air gap jumping using thumb drives," mainly implemented in enterprises and critical infrastructures. Air-gapped computers that are isolated from the Internet or other external networks are believed to be the most secure computers on the planet have become a regular target in recent years. Dubbed Brutal Kangaroo (v1.2.1), the tool suit was allegedly designed by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in year 2012 to infiltrate a closed network or air-gapped computer within an organization or enterprise without requiring any direct access. The previous version of Brutal Kangaroo was named as EZCheese , which was exploiting a vulnerability that was zero-day until March 2015, though the newer version was using " unknown link file vulnerability (Lachesis/RiverJack) related to the lib
Code Keepers: Mastering Non-Human Identity Management

Code Keepers: Mastering Non-Human Identity Management

Apr 12, 2024DevSecOps / Identity Management
Identities now transcend human boundaries. Within each line of code and every API call lies a non-human identity. These entities act as programmatic access keys, enabling authentication and facilitating interactions among systems and services, which are essential for every API call, database query, or storage account access. As we depend on multi-factor authentication and passwords to safeguard human identities, a pressing question arises: How do we guarantee the security and integrity of these non-human counterparts? How do we authenticate, authorize, and regulate access for entities devoid of life but crucial for the functioning of critical systems? Let's break it down. The challenge Imagine a cloud-native application as a bustling metropolis of tiny neighborhoods known as microservices, all neatly packed into containers. These microservices function akin to diligent worker bees, each diligently performing its designated task, be it processing data, verifying credentials, or
New Hack Uses Hard Drive's Noise to Transfer Stolen Data from Air-Gapped Computer

New Hack Uses Hard Drive's Noise to Transfer Stolen Data from Air-Gapped Computer

Aug 12, 2016
Air-gapped computers that are isolated from the Internet and other computers are long considered to be the most secure and safest place for storing data in critical infrastructures such as industrial control systems, financial institutions, and classified military networks. However, these systems have sometimes been targeted in the past, which proves that these isolated systems are not completely secure. Previous techniques of hacking air gap computers include: AirHopper that turns a computer's video card into an FM transmitter to capture keystrokes; BitWhisper that relies on heat exchange between two computer systems to stealthily siphon passwords or security keys; Hacking air-gapped computer using a basic low-end mobile phone with GSM network; and Stealing the secret cryptographic key from an air-gapped computer placed in another room using a Side-Channel Attack. Now, researchers have devised a new method to steal data from an infected computer even if it has no
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How-to — Stealing Decryption Key from Air-Gapped Computer in Another Room

How-to — Stealing Decryption Key from Air-Gapped Computer in Another Room

Feb 16, 2016
Air-gapped computers that are believed to be the most secure computers on the planet have become a regular target for researchers in recent years. Air-gap computers are one that are isolated from the Internet or any other computers that are connected to the Internet or external network, so hackers can't remotely access their contents. But you need to think again before calling them ' Safe .' A team of security researchers from Tel Aviv University and Technion have discovered a new method to steal sensitive data from a target air-gapped computer located in another room. The team is the same group of researchers who had experimented a number of different methods to extract data from a computer. Last year, the team demonstrated how to extract secret decryption keys from computers using just a radio receiver and a piece of pita bread. In 2014, the team devised a special digitizer wristband that had the ability to extract the cryptographic key used to secu
Hacking Air-Gapped Computer With A Simple Cell Phone

Hacking Air-Gapped Computer With A Simple Cell Phone

Jul 27, 2015
Wanna Hack an extremely secure Computer? You do not need sophisticated techniques or equipment to do so. To hack an Air-Gapped computer – All you need is a cell phone; even old-fashioned, dumb phones from the past decade will work. Yes, Hacking Air-Gapped Computers is possible using a basic low-end mobile phone. Israeli security researchers have devised a new attack to steal data from a computer that is isolated from the internet and other computers that are connected to external networks, also known as an air-gapped computer. This new hack attack that could steal data from a highly secured computer uses: The GSM network Electromagnetic waves A basic low-end mobile phone The research was conducted by lead security researcher Mordechai Guri, along with Yuval Elovici, Assaf Kachlon, Ofer Hasson, Yisroel Mirsky, and Gabi Kedma – the same researchers who developed a previous attack that used a smartphone to wirelessly extract data from Air-Gapped computers .
Hacking Air-Gapped Computers Using Heat

Hacking Air-Gapped Computers Using Heat

Mar 25, 2015
An air-gapped computer system isolated from the Internet and other computers that are connected to external networks believes to be the most secure computers on the planet -- Yeah?? You need to think again before calling them 'safe'. A group of Israeli security researchers at the Cyber Security Labs from Ben Gurion University have found a new technique to hack ultra-secure air-gapped computers and retrieve data using only heat emissions and a computer's built-in thermal sensors. WHAT IS AIR-GAPPED COMPUTERS ? Air-gapped computers or systems are considered to be the most secure and safest computer systems. These systems are isolated from the Internet or any other commuters that are connected to the Internet or external network. Air-gapped systems are used in situations that demand high security because it's very difficult to siphon data from these systems, as it requires a physical access to the machine which is possible by using removable device such as a US
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