"Bill Kearney" <wkearney99@hotmail.com> hath wroth:

>> Until Ellch and Maynor come across with more information,
>> they should be regarded as the Pons and Fleischmann of wireless
>> security.

>So you'd rather keep your head in the sand, ostrich-like, than take
>effective action? G'head, leave you ass in the air, exposed to being
>hacked, while trying to discredit the sources.

If it wasn't for the sterling credentials of those presenting the
wirless driver exploit, it would probably be dismissed as alarmist and
possibly fabricated. Methinks Ellch and Maynor might have a slightly
different agenda. Major security exploits are normally not released
in the middle of security conventions unless those making the
presentation are after publicity. It could easily have been released
in one of the security mailing lists, where exploit details are
usually not released until after those affected are informed. Some
time is allowed for the manufacturers to review the problem and offer
fixes. Peer review and comments in the mailing lists are also
necessary to make sure there were no oversights and errors.

However, the problem is a bit different when giving a live public
demonstration. The trick is to show that there is a problem, but to
not leak exploit details to the hackers. Trying to do that
effectively at the Black Hat convention is a guaranteed loser.
Everyone present is going to want exploit details. Those with a clue
are going to run home and crank out exploit scripts. Meanwhile, the
manufacturers are in a state of panic, and the trade press is sure to
expand this into the inevitable demise of all things wireless.

In my opinion, the only thing positive that might come out of this is
the publicity received by Ellch and Maynor. Everything else is in
disarray and subject to many questions. Like Fleischmann and Pons
(cold fusion), they got their publicity and nothing else useful.

>Meanwhile, smarter folks
>will simply upgrade their firmware and reconfigure their devices to avoid
>the risks.

How? It's a driver issue. According to the story line, you don't
even need to be connected to be successfully attacked. Just have the
client radio enabled. I have my doubts after reading the
presentations and watching the video clip. There were some things
involved in the demo that were totally un-necessary. Why did they use
a laptop as an access point? Why do they claim that a connection is
not necessary, and then run the demonstration while connected. Etc.
Methinks the smart people will not panic, just wait and see, and
perhaps turn off their wireless clients or radios when not in use.


--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558