Mac Attacked and 0wn3d

[Ezlivin]

White Hat hackers have demonstrated how to use low-level hacking exploits on wireless drivers to gain control of Apple MacBook PC.

A presentation by Jon Ellch and David Maynor at this week's Black Hat security conference in Vegas omitted details of the security flaw. The security researchers presented their demo by video to prevent malicious hackers from sniffing network traffic and reconstructing their attack.

Ellch and Maynor have found two similar flaws in the wireless device drivers for Windows machines. The duo decided to present their demo with a Mac machine as a target to prick what Maynor described as the "Mac user base aura of smugness on security". During the demo, they showed how they gained access to an Apple MacBook in less than a minute, the Washington Post reports. (From The Register)

[Touchdown]

1. BZZZ! WRONG!

They hacked into WIRELESS DRIVERS. Not the Mac OS itself. These drivers are platform agnostic, and are on most all notebook computers. They also in a very GOP manner, erroneously say that OSX's default is open to all wireless networks. It isn't. OSX always asks you if you want to join a new network, unless you change that in preferences. Airport has to be turned on for any of this conveniently videotaped hacking to take place. My Airport is always off unless I want to connect.

Here is who is hacked and "Own3d"...

"Apple -- like many computer manufacturers -- outsources the development of its wireless device drivers to third parties. In Apple's case, the developer in question is Atheros, a company that devises drivers for a number of different wireless cards, each designed with drivers specific to the operating systems on which they will be used. "

[Ezlivin]

2. The Mac was attacked (via Wi-Fi) and was 0wn3d

I have been using Macs since 1985 and am running OS X Tiger. I am a big, big, big Mac fan, also having worked for PCPC, the inventor of MacBottom and HFS Back-up. Do you want to see my MacWorld pass or my MacWrite and MacPaint floppies?

Regardless of how someone got into the Mac, the fact remains that they did. Sure, the Mac is a nice, secure system, but that doesn't matter if you find another way in.

And I agree that "out of the box" the Mac has good security with ports shut off and so forth. But once a concept like this has been "proved", the next step to see if there is a vulnerability that will allow further access. Does that exist? I don't know. I didn't think you could use Javascript to scan a LAN, but you can. (http://www.spidynamics.com/spilabs/js-port-scan/)

I know that security firms are trying hard to make the Mac appear as vulnerable as a Windoze machine, but that doesn't mean we can leave our guard down.

[TommyO]

3. Not only that

but they used a third-party card and drivers rather than the built-in wireless capabilities of the machine. So, they use third party device, launch a terminal session on the mac and let it sit there.

Do all systems, including Mac OS X include vulnerabilities, of course, but they had to go out of their way to do it.

[Ezlivin]

4. I'll start worrying about it after I get my NEW Mac

:)

Yeah, I know that I'll never really worry about it, but meanwhile I'm going to have a lot of fun with the newest Mac I've owned in 7 years. Man, I can hardly wait. It's a Dual 3Ghz Mac Pro with 2GB of RAM and a 30" monitor.

'Bout damn time, too.

[TommyO]

5. Congrats on the new Mac!

I'm still very happy with my Dual-core 2.3 PowerMac (though I'll be upgrading the video card via a flashed PC card since Apple doesn't offer upgrades, damn them!).

Since my Mac is only eight months old, I'll be sticking with it for a while, but can see myself getting itchy for a new system come 2008.

[Ezlivin]

6. Mac NOT 0wn3d

The central point here is that for this particular exploit to be of any concern whatsoever to MacBook users, it would have to work against the MacBook’s built-in card using Mac OS X’s built-in driver. Using a third-party card — as Maynor clearly and admittedly did in their video demonstration — makes the issue moot to any Mac user using the built-in card. But the same goes for the driver — if Maynor and Ellch can demonstrate an attack that works against the MacBook’s built-in card, but which requires a third-party software driver, that’s equally moot.

<snip>

So at the beginning of August, Maynor and Ellch told Krebs that the default MacBook drivers were exploitable, but would not, even on video, demonstrate an exploit against them publicly. As of last Thursday, however, their SecureWorks web site explicitly states that their video demonstration does not involve Apple’s default drivers, and both Apple and Atheros issued unequivocal statements that Maynor and Ellch have not provided Apple with any evidence showing a flow in Apple’s drivers. (Source

As a Mac owner, I'm glad to update my original post with new information showing that the Mac, was NOT 0wn3d as was originally claimed in the article I cited.

And Touchdown was right in his assessment of the hack. As Stephen Colbert says, "A tip of the hat to you."

Finally, my new Mac Pro 3.0GHZ computer showed up. Its 30" monitor has been very lonely. (It's Xmas for me; it's been six long years since my last new Mac.) If Touchdown was here I'd sit next to him and explore the wonders of so much power....

[Richard Steele]

7. OOOOH, congrats on the new Mac!

Color me jealous!

And thanks for the story update too!

[Touchdown]

8. I'm not really that brilliant.

I just read some oof the responses to the study below on yoour link, and drew the conclusioon that there were too many questions the demonstrators didn't answer. I grain of salted it.

And actually I didn't get it right. I mentioned Airport in my original post. I didn't know they used 3rd party drivers for the hack. The point I was making is that they had to turn off the defaults, and leave the Mac on, with the driver connected to a lan/wan and logged in by the user in order to hack it. Like leaving your car keys in the ignition, and the doors unlocked, with the windows rollled down and the convertible top open. The best way to protect yourself is to shut down when you are done computing. It uses up energy anyway. They can't hack any computer that's turned off, or wireless driver that's been shut off or unplugged.

But thanks for the kudos anyway.:hi: