The physical components of an IT system.
0
votes
1answer
56 views
What method of secure erase is sufficient for MacBook Pro SSD Drives? [duplicate]
I would like to securely erase the hard drive of a SSD in a MacBook Pro. The Disk Utility does not give me the option to wipe this drive even when I boot into the System Partition. (it is greyed ...
6
votes
1answer
89 views
Building's server room is unlocked: What danger is my building in?
In one of the building I work in, there are lawyers and accountants, web developers and marketers, and numerous other small businesses. Everyone's (shared) internet is routed through the same server ...
3
votes
2answers
156 views
Hardware Level Write Protection for a CD-R
Let's say you burn a CD-R and it is finalized. Later, if you put it into a CD drive with some OS running, is it possible for the OS to write to it ?
Obviously, this shouldn't typically happen, ...
2
votes
2answers
73 views
Is any company or group working on secure hardware architectures? [closed]
My impression is that mature Unix-like operating systems are less vulnerable to trojans that might be present, mainly because of well-debugged kernel code, including correct use of hardware memory ...
21
votes
5answers
1k views
Can a hard drive be destroyed by drowning?
These are some ways of disposing of hard drives: Special firms, degaussing, hammering, pulling apart.
Can this be accomplished more quickly by drowning it? Fill a bucket with water, maybe add some ...
2
votes
1answer
139 views
Can linux (be made to) detect foreign connections to the ram bus?
I've been made aware on many answers and some comments that an attacker can read memory while a system is still running by attaching some sort of connection directly to the ram bus.
Can linux ...
4
votes
2answers
114 views
Out-of-the-box Network Intrusion Appliance for non-Power User
First, let me apologize if any of this question is naive or beneath the scope of this board. Bear in mind the context and that I'm asking as an attempt to exhaust all resources.
Also, I understand if ...
10
votes
2answers
710 views
“Friend” stole SD card. Tracing an SD card?
First off, let me say that I currently live in Mexico, a land filled with petty theft. I had a group of friends over last night, and they were looking at the photos on my camera. Today, I looked at my ...
3
votes
2answers
96 views
Disk Erasing Security - Odd Number of Writes
As one can find in the Disk Utility/Erase/Security Options section, there are two options for erasing disks securely - zero out 7 times or zero out 35 times. Where these numbers come from?
11
votes
1answer
147 views
Is OpenGL a security problem?
Today, almost all desktop and most mobile operating systems and devices support some version of OpenGL. I'm wondering about the security implications of that:
In many cases, the GPU has complete and ...
2
votes
1answer
146 views
TrueCrypt External Multimedia Hard Drive
Hi Guys i am in a bit of a Bind and cant find the Answer on the WWW so her is my question
I have a external Multi Media Hard Drive (1.36tb) so i made 4 partition a 350 gb
Then i shredded the free ...
19
votes
2answers
364 views
Aviation security - Lessons to learn from PlaneSploit
A somewhat related question has already been asked (What would one need to do in order to hijack a satellite?), only at a more abstract level.
Now we have a presentation by Hugo Teso from n.runs AG ...
2
votes
1answer
59 views
What devices/types of devices typically have unique associated ID numbers?
Background (not necessary to read; just what makes me ask):
Say someone's computer has either been hacked, or is running software run by $LARGE_EVIL_CORPORATION, and the hacker/$L wants to collect as ...
3
votes
4answers
386 views
Is it ok to cut some digits from the front-face of a credit/debit card?
I'm a European expat living in Asia. I usually hide my credit card at my apartment. However, I'm a bit scared about losing it when I carry it (wallet robbed or lost).
That's why I already scrubbed ...
1
vote
1answer
122 views
Keyboards with built in SmartCard reader. PIN/Password to unlock not via Computer
I am looking for keyboards with a built in SmartCard reader, where the Smartcard can be unlocked directly without going via the computer. The keyboards I found so far connect the SmartCard reader via ...
5
votes
2answers
205 views
Software security V.S Hardware security
In theory, perfect software applications are possible but in real life, they don't exist. When attackers know the software, they can send payloads to exploit vulnerabilities and run any arbitrary code ...
0
votes
0answers
23 views
Secure delete with urandom? [duplicate]
What recovery techniques (if any) exist that can recover data from a mechanical HDD if the user has filled the disk with a single run of dd if=/dev/urandom of=/dev/[disk]?
Or in other words: is this ...
0
votes
3answers
437 views
Best practices for firewall hardware
I'm planning to implement a linux based firewall/router with at least 6 x 1Gb NIC's (network with ~300 computers/server with >=8 VLANs)
Can anybody recommend hardware best practices (reference to ...
3
votes
3answers
228 views
An OS that does not trust its RAM?
I wonder if it is possible to write a kernel that would keep all of its RAM encrypted, storing the key in the CPU cache, so that the machine would be resistant to cold-boot attacks?
3
votes
1answer
104 views
Is this a security risk for us to lost TPM or others to access to reset BIOS ?
In the previous post Physically secure the system case it is recommended to physically protect the system. But in case stolen laptops where intruder have physical access to TPMs. What are the security ...
4
votes
2answers
211 views
How is hibernation supported, on machines with UEFI Secure Boot?
I've been learning about UEFI Secure Boot, which attempts to prevent "bootkits" by locking down the boot process so that only signed bootloaders and kernels can be loaded.
Hibernation seems like a ...
4
votes
1answer
254 views
How does UEFI Secure Boot prevent “evil twin” spoofing attacks?
I've been learning about UEFI Secure Boot. It is designed to prevent malware from infecting the boot process and overwriting the bootloader. It has hardware-level protections to ensure that only a ...
5
votes
2answers
163 views
How do you know a computer is not compromised when you first get it?
How do you know a computer is not compromised when you first get it? How do you know that manufacturers have not intentionally built vulnerabilities into the system?
0
votes
2answers
310 views
Encrypted flash drives
I have searched the web for information on secure encrypted USB flash drives. I have found that the most secure encryption is hardware-based like Kingstom DT4000 for example.
Why is a simple USB ...
1
vote
1answer
177 views
File system history on USB drives
I want to find out who deleted a specific file from a USB disk.
The disk is formatted as NTFS. The file was deleted while the disk was plugged into a Windows 7 system. However, while I do have ...
0
votes
0answers
118 views
Embedded hardware training courses in the UK? [closed]
To be honest I struggled a little to find an appropriate exchange to put this question..!
I like to study 'hardware hacking' i.e. reverse engineering of both the hardware components and the firmware ...
10
votes
1answer
249 views
Slot machine segfault: what can we determine?
We walked into a casino and saw this near the entrance. I don't have a specific question, but is there anything that would be interesting to share and explain from the image?
6
votes
3answers
213 views
Sourcing hardware that is least likely to contain backdoors
I understand that CPU silicon (for example) is scrutinized for backdoors but there are other aspects of a computer system that may "leak data" to the outside world unbeknownst to the owner regardless ...
2
votes
2answers
171 views
3
votes
4answers
268 views
Malware via power outlet
This is perhaps a very dumb question, but as I have no knowledge nor experience of IT security I have no option but to ask here.
Is it possible to get malware onto your computer or smartphone by ...
5
votes
1answer
152 views
How does virtualisation (IaaS) protect from CPU microcode updates and firmware changes?
Is it safe to assume that it's impossible for CPU Microcode updates and firmware updates to be initiated from a guest VM?
What software or hardware technologies protect my guest OS from altering or ...
4
votes
4answers
224 views
Are there any hardware HSMs that can host/run custom applications using the HSM processor(s) within the hardened security boundary?
It seems that the majority of commercially available hardware HSMs are only designed to allow authenticated users to generate, store, and use cryptographic keys with various cryptographic algorithms ...
5
votes
3answers
370 views
Does any tablet support remote attestation?
Some PCs come with a TPM. One of the nifty capabilities of TPMs is the ability to perform remote attestation. Remote attestation allows your computer to tell a third computer what software your ...
9
votes
3answers
463 views
OWASP Top 10 style security guide for implementation in hardware devices
I've seen OWASP Top 10 guides for web apps, native apps, etc., but never anything for embedded systems or hardware devices. These usually involve microcontrollers (e.g. Atmega / PIC) or small ...
0
votes
2answers
161 views
Bypassing Trusted Computing
I have not been able to find any information about trusted computing, scourge of freedom, on the Internet. I am reasonably sure that it's software manifestation can be bypassed by a Linux live disk, ...
7
votes
3answers
332 views
Possible to prevent Juice Jacking by only connecting USB pins 1 & 4?
According to this accepted answer, there is no phone on the market today that is immune from "Juice Jacking"*. I think an easy way to mitigate this threat is to have a filter that blocks USB pins 2 ...
6
votes
4answers
385 views
Keyboard sniffing through audio recorded typing patterns
I've been thinking about this for a while; I know people are aware of wireless wiretapping of keyboards. However, has there been research on how to wiretap keyboards based on typing patterns? I'm ...
7
votes
3answers
1k views
Does a working JTAG diagnostics port on Android phone add unnecessary risk?
Not enough people seem to know about JTAG outside the hacker and LEO communities but the short version is that JTAG allows anyone with physical access to your phone to chew their way right into it.
...
7
votes
2answers
230 views
Can a webcam be turned on when disabled in Windows' device manager?
In addition to whether a webcam can be turned on without the indicator light, I was wondering if disabling the device in Windows' device manager is a good option.
Of course when your system is ...
4
votes
5answers
380 views
Securing the hardware of my computer against remote exploits
How can I secure the BIOS, video card, network card, PCI, etc. of the computer against remote exploit? I have heard that it is possible to remotely exploit a computer using vulnerabilities in these ...
0
votes
1answer
108 views
How far beyond using Shred should I go when deleting files? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
How can I reliably erase all information on a hard drive?
I'm looking to securely erase my files. Is shred the best option besides ditching the hardware? To what lengths ...
1
vote
1answer
254 views
What kind of hashing is generally used in log-in modules?
Do operating systems hash the log-in password?
What hash function is used in Windows XP, 7, 8,Linux Ubuntu, Debian, MAC Lion OS X ,...?
Where should I look to know these security considerations of an ...
4
votes
3answers
324 views
VGA/HDMI Based Attack
Can I attack a PC via the VGA port? Is VGA one way or does it accept data from the other side?
How about HDMI or DVI?
And if so, are there known malware or PoCs to do that? or is it theoretically ...
2
votes
2answers
250 views
Seeking advice on how to build a box to brute force hashes? [closed]
I work in a startup security firm, and I need to build a GPU-based to brute force password/hashes, which can be used to validate password strength and test hashing algorithms. I expect some high ...
10
votes
6answers
2k views
How can mini-computers (like Raspberry Pi) be applied to IT security?
It's no secret that thousands of $35 Raspberry Pi (Model B) computers have just shipped to people around the world. With these, and other similar types of computers becoming cheaper and more ...
2
votes
2answers
245 views
Electromagnetic induction attacks - reverse TEMPEST?
I know that electromagnetic emissions from a device can be used to extract information from a system, e.g. TEMPEST or Van Eck phreaking.
I also know it's possible to induce a signal into a ...
5
votes
3answers
446 views
How to destroy old credit card?
What is the best (in terms of security) way to destroy old (but still working) credit card?
3
votes
1answer
131 views
Equipment required for sniffing data / address buses via EM emission
What kind of equipment would be required to sniff data from the electromagnetic emissions of data / address buses on an average motherboard?
I'd imagine a sensitive hall probe, a faraday cage and ...
0
votes
1answer
312 views
What kind of network tapping/sniffing hardware can be used to install NIDS or examine networks? [closed]
I'm looking for a device that can be plugged in between a client computer and a switch and records all ethernet packets and puts it into a pcap file or similar in order to analyse it with wireshark.
...
4
votes
2answers
293 views
Can I use hardware random number generation on my computer? Am I already using it?
A lot of computer security depends on encryption: SSL connections, TCP packet sequencing, encrypted files, etc. These depend on random number generation to ensure that attackers can't guess the ...
