in-flight entertainment vs avionics

For those of you who have had the opportunity to see one of my presentations "Can you really hack an airplane: Myths & Truths", you are already familiar with what is really happening and the confusion between in-flight entertainment systems and avionics (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avionics). I was asked to put this article up by a number of friends in the security industry to highlight a few very important points. The purpose of this article is to provide food for thought. Especially, when you hear someone saying that "hacked" an airplane, or made it fly "sideways" by tampering with its systems through the in-flight entertainment system. Consider the following points and come to your own conclusions. 

Anyone who is trying to "generalise" and claim that during an actual flight, for example through the in-flight entertainment system, managed to take control of the plane and/or that it is possible to actually fly an aircraft like this, should first read what the law has to say about this. (Tokyo Convention 1963). 
Do you really want someone with the excuse of being a "security researcher" tampering with the airplane's systems while you are on an actual flight, because he/she decided that has nothing better to do? I am sorry, but from where I stand, we (security researchers) respect the law, and make sure we have permission to conduct any security assessments & penetration testing, in a safe and approved environment. 

A Weapon for the Mass Destruction of Computer Infrastructures

Disclaimer: This is NOT a weapon. This is AN EXPERIMENT. 

You MUST NOT try this at home. The tests were performed under the supervision of licensed electricians, in a controlled environment. 

I intentionally do not provide any technical details about the devices. The purpose of this blog post is not to tell you how to do this, but to raise the awareness that this can actually happen. I believe, entities should be aware of this threat and take any necessary actions to protect their infrastructures. 

Having done a number of physical security assessments over the years, I started wondering how vulnerable our computer infrastructures are. I tried to think of a way for a malicious insider or an external third-party, to target a company’s computer network and take it down by damaging it (someone who doesn't have physical access to the server room). I started thinking about this from a different perspective and I tried to approach this "question" with an outside-the-box point of view. 

Due to my experience with physical security assessments I noticed that there are many unattended Ethernet ports (sockets) everywhere around a building. These ports might not be “active” but most of the time they are connected at the far-end on a managed or unmanaged network switch. 

I started wondering what would be the effect if one tried to apply electric current on an Ethernet socket from a power socket directly. The picture on the left illustrates a cable which sends electric current (220V-250V) directly from the power socket to the Ethernet port (This is very dangerous, do not make one, and do not try to use it). In reality, such attempt is actually pointless, as it will only "toast" the device you connect this modified power cable. 

The hypothetical network switch at the other end will end up toasted in a split second and the person doing this will experience a loud bang and a bright flash, along with the smell of burned plastic at the Ethernet socket side. 

This is a very dangerous thing for one to do and not a very convenient or an effective way for taking down the whole computer infrastructure. The whole point is to manage to "fry" all the devices behind the network switch!!! (..even after the network switch is "toasted", and the circuits are burned). Also, without exposing ourselves to any danger, as it would have happen if someone have used the cable mentioned earlier on. 

Understanding the significance of Operations Security (OPSEC) in a fast evolving threat landscape

It is not the first time a military term is being used by the Information Security community in order to describe an Information Assurance process. Operations Security (OPSEC) is a military term referring to the protection of different types of unclassified information which could end up exposing the security of an entity if put together and combined. In other words, in information security OPSEC describes the process by which publicly available information (unclassified) can be used against us if taken advantage by cyber criminals and/or adversaries with malicious intent.

Enhancing your cyber defence through a physical security assessment

Physical Security Assessments can be viewed as a penetration test against the physical infrastructure of an organisation. Instead of the assessment of computer networks and services, buildings and physical locations are being assessed. During this type of assessment the overall physical security of the location of a building, the facilities and the access controls are in scope. Physical security is often overlooked and the consequences of a physical breach can have the same impact as a computer breach.