1205, 2021

First DeepSec 2021 Trainings published

René Pfeiffer/ May 12, 2021/ Conference, Training

We dug through the submissions and selected trainings for the preliminary schedule. It’s just the trainings, and the intention is to give you some information for planning the rest of the year. We intend the trainings to be on site at the conference hotel. We will also explore ways to offer a virtual training or to attend the course virtually. The topics range from attacking modern desktop applications, in-depth network security (mobile networks and traffic analysis), penetration testing industrial control systems over to how to break and secure single-sign on systems. The entire collection of content aims to educate your IT department and your development team regarding the current state of affairs in companies with employees connected in home office. All technologies and tools are vital parts of the workplace. We included attacking industrial

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2910, 2019

DeepSec 2019 Talk: Chinese Police and CloudPets – Abraham Aranguren

Sanna/ October 29, 2019/ Conference, Security

[In our Call for Papers we mentioned that DeepSec and specifically DeepINTEL will have a connection to geopolitics. Well, the following description of a presentation at DeepSec gives you an idea of what we meant.] This talk is a summary of three different security audits with an interesting background: First, CloudPets, their epic track record, what we found and what happened afterwards. Next, two mobile apps by Chinese Police: “BXAQ” and “IJOP”, both related to surveillance of ethnic minorities, but in different ways. Stay tuned. Part 1: CloudPets Wouldn’t it be cool, for a parent far from home, to be able to record a voice message with their phone and make the sound come out of a soft toy that children can hug? That’s the idea of CloudPets. Children can even respond directly from

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2410, 2019

DeepSec 2019 Training: Mobile Hacking – Davy Douhine and Guillaume Lopes

Sanna/ October 24, 2019/ Training

Guillaume Lopes and Davy Douhine, senior pentesters, will share many techniques, tips and tricks with pentesters, bug bounty researchers or just the curious in a 100% “hands-on” training. Their goal is to introduce tools(Adb, Apktool, Jadx, Androguard, Cycript, Drozer, Frida, Hopper, Needle, MobSF, etc.) and techniques to help you to work faster and in a more efficient way in the mobile ecosystem. This is exactly the training that you would have liked to have before wasting your precious time trying and failing while testing. Agenda Two days based mainly on practical exercises: – Day 1: Android Hacking – Day 2: iOS Hacking Main topics of the training are based on the fresh OWASP MSTG (Mobile Security Testing Guide): – Review the codebase of a mobile app (aka static analysis) – Run the app on

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0306, 2019

Translated Article: EU Prosecutors call for Security Holes in 5G Standards

Sanna/ June 3, 2019/ Communication, Discussion, High Entropy, Security

EU-Strafverfolger fordern Sicherheitslücken in 5G-Standards for fm4 by Erich Moechel The telecoms are to be forced to align the technical design of their 5G networks with the monitoring needs of the police authorities. In addition, security holes in the 5G protocols are required to enable monitoring by IMSI catchers. Gilles de Kerchove, EU counter-terrorism coordinator, warns against the planned security standards for the new 5G mobile networks. The reason for this are neither network components of the Chinese manufacturer Huawei, nor technical defects. De Kerchove’s warnings are directed against the planned high degree of network security, according to an internal document of the EU Council of Ministers, available to ORF.at. These measures to protect against criminals as well as the planned 5G network architecture stand in the way of the installation of backdoors for

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2111, 2018

DeepSec 2018 Talk: Attacks on Mobile Operators – Aleksandr Kolchanov

Sanna/ November 21, 2018/ Conference, Security

I’d like to talk about telecom security. My research contains information about security of mobile operators: classic and new (or very rare) attack vectors and vulnerabilities. This presentation will consist of three main parts: First, I will share information on the security of mobile operators in general. I’ll tell you a little bit about why it is important (usually, phone numbers are used as a key to social networks, messengers, bank accounts, etc). So, if an attacker can hack a mobile operator, he can gain access to a big amount of user data and money. Also, in this part, I will tell you about typical SS7 attacks (how to intercept SMS or send fake ones). During the second part, I will tell you about different vulnerabilities and security issues. All of the problems I

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1909, 2018

DeepSec 2018 Talk: New Attack Vectors for the Mobile Core Networks – Dr. Silke Holtmanns / Isha Singh

Sanna/ September 19, 2018/ Conference

DeepSec has a long tradition of tackling the security of mobile networks and devices alike. The first DeepSec conference featured a presentation about the A5/1 crack. Later one we offered trainings covering mobile network security and weaknesses. So we are proud to announce Isha Singh’s and Silke Holtmanns’ talk about new attack vectors. Here is a brief summary: “Roaming or being called from abroad is being something we take for granted.”, says Silke Holtmanns. “Technically it implies that large networks communicate with each other across geographical and political boundaries. Those communication and the network behind is not well known and understood by most cellular users. This network, its background, security and usage will be explained. We will highlight the attack vectors for 2G, 3G and 4G networks and give an outlook on 5G. We

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1710, 2017

DeepSec Talk 2017: Normal Permissions In Android: An Audiovisual Deception – Constantinos Patsakis

Sanna/ October 17, 2017/ Conference, Security

The Marshmallow version was a significant revision for Android. Among the new features that were introduced one of the most significant is, without any doubt, the runtime permission. The permission model was totally redesigned, categorising the permissions into four main categories. The main concept of this categorisation is how much risk a user is exposed to when permissions are granted. Therefore, normal permissions imply the least risk for the user. However, in this case, there are some important issues. Firstly, these permissions are not actually displayed to the user; they are not displayed upon installation and the user needs to dig into several menus to find them for each app. Most importantly though, these permissions cannot be revoked. Unlike permissions categorized as dangerous, where the user can grant or revoke a permission whenever deemed

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1610, 2017

DeepSec2017 Workshop: Mobile App Attack – Sneha Rajguru

Sanna/ October 16, 2017/ Conference, Training

The world’s gone mobile. Mobile devices have surpassed the standard computer (i.e. desktop) installation multiple times. In turn this means that you will encounter these devices most definitely when testing or implementing security measures. Usually adversaries do not use the platform itself. They use software to gain entry. This is why mobiles apps are the most preferred way of delivering the attacks today. Understanding the finer details of mobile app attacks is soon becoming an essential skill for penetration testers as well as for the app developers & testers. This is why we have a special training for you at DeepSec 2017. So, if you are an Android or an iOS user, a developer, a security analyst, a mobile pen-tester, or just a mobile security enthusiast the training ‘Mobile App Attack’ is of definite

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2101, 2017

Putting the Context into the Crypto of Secure Messengers

René Pfeiffer/ January 21, 2017/ Communication, Discussion, Internet

Every once in a while the world of encrypted/secure/authenticated messaging hits the wall of usability. In the case for email Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) is an ancient piece of software. These days we have modern tools such as GnuPG, but the concept of creating keys, verifying identities (i.e. determining who is to trust), synchronising trust/keys with communication partners, and handling the software in case something goes wrong is quite a challenge. Plus things might change. People revoke their keys, devices get lost, data gets deleted, people create new keys or even (digital) identities, or do lots of things that is either anticipated by the software developers or not. Communication is not static. There are moving parts involved, especially the communication partners might move a lot. So crypto is hard, we know this. Discussing secure

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1510, 2016

DeepSec2016 Talk: Security and Privacy in the Current E-Mobility Charging Infrastructure – Achim Friedland

Sanna/ October 15, 2016/ Conference, Development, Security

The whole information technology strongly depends on electric power. Your servers will turn into expensive door stoppers once the power goes out. The same is true for your mobile devices and the hardware you use to get around. Hence there are efforts to extend the power grid to accommodate the demand of new and emerging technologies. The charging infrastructure requires some security considerations. You cannot simply put a cable into any power socket, throw it our of the windows, and use it for charging unknown devices and vehicles. It’s a bit more complicated. At DeepSec 2016 Achim Friedland will give you an overview on what charging really means. In his talk Achim Friedland focuses on the emerging market of  smart and electric mobility as an interesting area of research and development for both academia and startups.

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0602, 2016

DeepSec Video: File Format Fuzzing in Android – Giving a Stagefright to the Android Installer

René Pfeiffer/ February 6, 2016/ Conference, Security

The Stagefright exploit haunts the Android platform. The vulnerability was published in Summer 2015. It gives attackers a way to infect Android smartphones by using multimedia files such as pictures, text, and videos. This is a perfect vector since most people will look at media instantly. Dr. Aleksandr Yampolskiy gave a presentation at DeepSec 2010 about malicious software hidden in multimedia (the talk was aptly titled Malware goes to the Movies). So what if there are more bugs like this in the Android platform? Enter fuzzing technology. Alexandru Blanda spoke at DeepSec2015 about fuzzing on the Android platform. This approach can be used to uncover different types of vulnerabilities inside multiple core system components of the Android OS. Since these vulnerabilities affect critical components of the Android system, the impact of the results will

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0411, 2015

DeepSec 2015 Talk: Bridging the Air-Gap: Data Exfiltration from Air-Gap Networks – Mordechai Guri & Yisroel Mirsky

Sanna/ November 4, 2015/ Conference, Internet, Security

Air does not conduct electricity, usually. Using air gaps between parts transporting electric power by high voltages is a standard method in electrical engineering. Similar strategies are used in information security. Compartmentalisation can be done by network components, logical/physical separation, solid walls, and space filled with air. The only threat you have to worry about are wireless transmissions. Since mobile phone networks permeate our private and business life, access to wireless networks is everywhere. Unless you live in a cave, literally. Mordechai Guri and Yisroel Mirsky have found a way to use cellular frequencies as a carrier in order to transport data out of an air-gapped environment. They will present their results at DeepSec 2015. Air-gapped networks are isolated, separated both logically and physically from public networks. Although the feasibility of invading such systems

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2707, 2015

Security of Things – Dead Horses just get beaten with the Internet

René Pfeiffer/ July 27, 2015/ High Entropy, Internet, Security

What do NoSQL databases and cars have in common? You can find and freely access them by using the trusty Internet. Wired magazine has published a story about a remotely controlled Jeep Cherokee. Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek have found a way to use the properties of UConnect™ combined with (design) flaws to take full control of the vehicle . The threat is real since the car was attacked remotely by using a network connection. UConnect™ was formerly known as MyGIG™, and systems are available since 2007. It’s basically your entertainment system on steroids with added telemetry, internal commands, and network capabilities. Hacking cars by attacking the entertainment system was already discussed at DeepSec 2011. This is the next level, because cars have now their own IP addresses (and no firewall apparently). NoSQL databases are very

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0202, 2015

Encrypted Messaging, Secure by Design – RedPhone and TextSecure for iOS

René Pfeiffer/ February 2, 2015/ Communication, Security

Encrypted communication is periodically in the news. A few weeks ago politicians asked companies and individuals all over the world to break the design of all secure communication. Demanding less security in an age where digital threats are increasing is a tremendously bad idea. Cryptographic algorithms are a basic component of information security. Encryption is used to protect data while being transported or stored on devices. Strong authentication is a part of this as well. If you don’t know who or what talks to you, then you are easy prey for frauds. Should you be interested in ways to improve the security of your messaging and phone calls, we recommend watching the presentation of Dr. Christine Corbett Moran. She is the lead developer of the iOS team at Open WhisperSystems. She talks about bringing

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0202, 2015

Encryption – A brand new „Feature“ for Cars

René Pfeiffer/ February 2, 2015/ Internet, Security, Stories

At DeepSec 2011 Constantinos Patsakis and Kleanthis Dellios held a presentation titled “Patching Vehicle Insecurities”. They pointed out that the car is starting to resemble more to a computer with mechanical peripherals (incase you haven’t seen their talk,  please do!). This is true for all types, not only the modern cars powered by electricity alone. But there is more. Modern cars are connected to networks (i.e. the Internet or the mobile phone network). This means that your method of transportation is part of the dreaded Internet of Things. Given the design flaws we have seen in talks given at DeepSec, there is no surprise that this is a  breeding ground for major trouble. The Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobil-Club (ADAC), a German motoring association, discovered a lapse in the communication between BMW cars and the servers

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