Kaspersky researchers discover malware hidden in the firmware of hard drives & link the development to the NSA. We discuss what’s known publicly at this point.
The Pebble smartwatch just got access to Android Wear apps & Apple prepares to sell millions & millions of watches.
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How “omnipotent” hackers tied to NSA hid for 14 years—and were found at last | Ars Technica
In 2009, one or more prestigious researchers received a CD by mail that contained pictures and other materials from a recent scientific conference they attended in Houston. The scientists didn’t know it then, but the disc also delivered a malicious payload developed by a highly advanced hacking operation that had been active since at least 2001. The CD, it seems, was tampered with on its way through the mail.
It wasn’t the first time the operators—dubbed the “Equation Group” by researchers from Moscow-based Kaspersky Lab—had secretly intercepted a package in transit, booby-trapped its contents, and sent it to its intended destination. In 2002 or 2003, Equation Group members did something similar with an Oracle database installation CD in order to infect a different target with malware from the group’s extensive library. (Kaspersky settled on the name Equation Group because of members’ strong affinity for encryption algorithms, advanced obfuscation methods, and sophisticated techniques.)
Kaspersky researchers have documented 500 infections by Equation Group in at least 42 countries, with Iran, Russia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, Syria, and Mali topping the list. Because of a self-destruct mechanism built into the malware, the researchers suspect that this is just a tiny percentage of the total; the actual number of victims likely reaches into the tens of thousands.
- Kaspersky PDF Report
- Someone (probably the NSA) has been hiding viruses in hard drive firmware | The Verge
Report: Apple Prepping Electric Car | News & Opinion | PCMag.com
Still, according to the Journal, “the size of the project team and the senior people involved indicate that the company is serious.”
The paper pointed to talks with high-end car makers and Apple’s work with designer Marc Newsom, who has experience with car design.
Apple Orders More Than 5 Million Watches for Initial Run – Digits – WSJ
Apple has asked its suppliers in Asia to make a combined five to six million units of its three Apple Watch models during the first quarter ahead of the product’s release in April, according to people familiar with the matter.
Pebble’s Smartwatch Now Officially Supports Android Wear Apps | TechCrunch
Now your watch can take advantage of apps that support Google’s Android Wear platform, in addition to those within Pebble’s own app store.
Flaw In Netgear Wi-Fi Routers Exposes Admin Password, WLAN Details – Slashdot
A number of Netgear home wireless routers sport a vulnerability that can be misused by unauthenticated attackers [here’s the report at seclists.org] to obtain the administrator password, device serial number, WLAN details, and various details regarding clients connected to the device, claims systems/network engineer Peter Adkins. The vulnerability is found in the embedded SOAP service, which is a service that interacts with the Netgear Genie application that allows users to control (change WLAN credentials, SSIDs, parental control settings, etc.) their routers via their smartphones or computers.