Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

SecurityWeekSecurityWeek

Vulnerabilities

Researcher to Demonstrate Hollywood Style Attack at BlackHat

Craig Heffner, a vulnerability researcher for Tactical Network Solutions in Columbia, MD, is returning to Black Hat this summer with a presentation that will include a proof-of-concept attack against network surveillance cameras that is usually reserved for the movies.

Craig Heffner, a vulnerability researcher for Tactical Network Solutions in Columbia, MD, is returning to Black Hat this summer with a presentation that will include a proof-of-concept attack against network surveillance cameras that is usually reserved for the movies.

In a talk titled Exploiting Network Surveillance Cameras Like a Hollywood Hacker, Heffner will describe zero-day vulnerabilities in consumer as well as enterprise network surveillance gear that can be remotely exploited.

According to his talk summation, Heffner is going to discuss the issues he’s discovered in “…cameras manufactured by D-Link, Trendnet, Cisco, IQInvision, Alinking and 3SVision.”

The talk promises to be interesting due to the fact – aptly noted in the talk’s outline – that these cameras are used the world over, including highly secured areas. Likewise, they’re also used in casinos (including where Black Hat is being held), banks, prisons, and corporate offices.

“It’s a significant threat,” Heffner told Reuters in an interview.

“Somebody could potentially access a camera and view it. Or they could also use it as a pivot point, an initial foothold, to get into the network and start attacking internal systems.”

In addition to the talk itself (the contents of which will not be disclosed to the vendors prior to the presentation), Heffner plans to demonstrate a live proof-of-concept attack that shows how a “remote attacker can leverage the described vulnerabilities to freeze and modify legitimate video streams from these cameras, in true Hollywood fashion.”

As mentioned, this isn’t the first time Heffner has come to Black Hat with something interesting.

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

In 2010, he gave the talk titled How to Hack Millions of Routers, which explored the security problems embedded within home networking equipment offered by Linksys, Dell, and Verizon.

Written By

Click to comment

Trending

Daily Briefing Newsletter

Subscribe to the SecurityWeek Email Briefing to stay informed on the latest threats, trends, and technology, along with insightful columns from industry experts.

Understand how to go beyond effectively communicating new security strategies and recommendations.

Register

Join us for an in depth exploration of the critical nature of software and vendor supply chain security issues with a focus on understanding how attacks against identity infrastructure come with major cascading effects.

Register

Expert Insights

Related Content

Vulnerabilities

Less than a week after announcing that it would suspended service indefinitely due to a conflict with an (at the time) unnamed security researcher...

Data Breaches

OpenAI has confirmed a ChatGPT data breach on the same day a security firm reported seeing the use of a component affected by an...

IoT Security

A group of seven security researchers have discovered numerous vulnerabilities in vehicles from 16 car makers, including bugs that allowed them to control car...

Vulnerabilities

A researcher at IOActive discovered that home security systems from SimpliSafe are plagued by a vulnerability that allows tech savvy burglars to remotely disable...

Risk Management

The supply chain threat is directly linked to attack surface management, but the supply chain must be known and understood before it can be...

Cybercrime

Patch Tuesday: Microsoft calls attention to a series of zero-day remote code execution attacks hitting its Office productivity suite.

Vulnerabilities

Patch Tuesday: Microsoft warns vulnerability (CVE-2023-23397) could lead to exploitation before an email is viewed in the Preview Pane.

Vulnerabilities

The latest Chrome update brings patches for eight vulnerabilities, including seven reported by external researchers.