Tag Archive for: Frontier

Physical World Hacking – the New Frontier of Cybercrime | Kenny Sahr

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Cybercrime cost businesses and governments over $1 trillion in 2020, according to security software company McAfee. When we speak of cybercrime, we refer to damage to digital assets – computer files. Cybercrime is quickly moving from the digital world to the physical world.

Our Connected World
Over the past few years, more and more “things” are being connected. Smartphones are connected to the newly-minted smart home via light bulbs and appliances. Factories are adding internet connected parts and machinery. Cars are increasingly run by software. The COVID pandemic is accelerating the trend as people work at home and gain access to physical assets (and not just files) from factories that until recently were “air-gapped” (not connected to networks).

Imagine this scenario: a factory manager has access to a boiler from his home office. He ignores IT cybersecurity rules and a hacker gains access to his laptop. The hacker can theoretically raise the temperature of the boiler and cause damage to physical assets and people.

The Dangers of Hacking the Physical World
Criminal hackers are well aware of the new frontier of physical world hacking. The general public is not. The goal of this article is to inform you of what to expect in the coming years. Cybercrime is dangerous enough today. Adding the element of harming people and “stuff” takes cybercrime to a whole new level. I hope society is ready for the wave that is coming.

Let’s take a quick look at the future of cybercrime.

Automotive Hacking
Imagine hackers capable of distracting drivers. It is enough to generate flashing lights on the dashboard in order to wreak havoc. How about changing code on the software that runs your brakes? Cars are especially vulnerable for two reasons –

1. Cars move fast and can harm drivers, passengers and pedestrians
2. It is not easy to update the software or operating system of a car

The roads are dangerous enough without the added risk of hacking. Furthermore, unlike your phone or laptop, it is not easy to update a car’s software. On our personal devices, it just takes a few clicks in order to fix a vulnerability. For a car, today this translated into a recall – bringing an…

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PetrSU teachers in the jury of the student conference “First frontier” – India Education,Education News India,Education News

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The works of the participants were evaluated by a jury, which included an associate professor of the Department of Technology and Organization of Construction of the Institute of Forest, Mining and Construction Sciences.
Lecturer at the Institute of Forestry, Mining and Construction Sciences Yu.V. Nikonova took part in the jury of the scientific-practical conference of students “The First Frontier” on the basis of the Petrozavodsk Presidential Cadet School.

Individual projects of students were defended at various sections of the conference. At the section “Exact Sciences and Engineering Sciences (Applied and Fundamental Mathematics, Physics and Applied Mechanics, Information Cybernetic Systems and Computer Modeling, Informatics, Computing Machinery and Computer Security”, the work of the participants was evaluated by a jury, which included an associate professor of the Department of Technology and Organization of Construction Yu.V. Nikonova.

Schoolchildren presented more than 10 reports to the jury. The topics of the reports were topical, many works are of practical importance. Some guys presented experimental models to demonstrate their research. All studies were well developed, but the reports “Paper airplane”, “Catalog of educational videos” Physics of flight “,” Robotic reconnaissance system “ESH-1”, “Creation and testing of hydrophobic impregnations”, “Automated linguistic simulator” aroused special interest.


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Cybersecurity threats at the edge represent new frontier for hackers in 2021

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Threat actors have been effective at weaponizing email through phishing attacks and social media via disinformation and divisive posts. Now they are about to weaponize the edge as well.

A recent report from FortiGuard Labs, the threat intelligence and research organization of Fortinet Inc., predicts that weaponizing of connected devices at the intelligent edge could have a major impact on the speed and scale of cyberattacks in the future.

“This is the new emerging threat, more processing power, more access and privilege, smarter decisions that are being made on those devices,” said Derek Manky (pictured), chief of security insights and global threat alliances at Fortinet’s FortiGuard Labs. “Those devices are going to be targets for cybercriminals, and that’s something we’re going to see next year. Targeting the edge is going to be a big thing.”

Manky spoke with Lisa Martin, host of SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming video studio theCUBE. They discussed the range of threats posed by IoT device vulnerabilities and new developments in swarm technologies that could be exploited by hackers. (* Disclosure below.)

Emerging swarm attacks

The attack surface posed by edge devices includes virtual assistants in the home, but it extends beyond that.

“These edge devices are also being put into military and defense, critical infrastructure, field units for oil, gas and electricity,” Manky said. “IoT devices are the main culprit right now, and they can continue to be for a while.”

One of the emerging threats identified by FortiGuard Labs involves edge-enabled swarm attacks. The deployment of 5G wireless technology with its enhanced processing power will allow hackers to share intelligence in real time and fine-tune attacks in process.

An early sign of this threat can be found in a new botnet — HEH — which was discovered recently by the security division of Chinese tech firm Qihoo 360. HEH can wipe all data from infected routers, servers and IoT devices.

“The main characteristic of it is that it’s able to have communication,” Manky noted. “Devices can pass files between each other, talk to each other. They don’t have machine learning models yet, so…

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Frontier misled subscribers about Internet speeds and prices, AG finds

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A Frontier Communications service van parked in a snowy area.

Enlarge / A Frontier Communications service van. (credit: Mike Mozart / Flickr)

Frontier Communications misled thousands of customers about the prices it charges and about the speeds its broadband network can provide, Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s office has found.

The state’s investigation of Frontier’s business practices found evidence of the telecom “failing to adequately disclose taxes and fees during sales of cable, Internet, and telephone services; failing to adequately disclose its Internet Infrastructure Surcharge fee in advertising; misleading consumers by implying that the Internet Infrastructure Surcharge and other fees are mandatory and/or government-related fees; and misleading consumers as to Internet speeds it could offer, and failing to deliver speeds and service as advertised.”

The findings are described in a settlement that will force Frontier Communications to pay a $ 900,000 fine and force the new owner of Frontier’s network in Washington state to change its business practices. Among other things, the settlement requires Frontier’s current owner in Washington to stop charging the $ 3.99-per-month Internet Infrastructure Surcharge. The company “neither admits nor denies the State’s findings.” The settlement still needs court approval before it can take effect.

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