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Indeed. My mom got an internet connected "security camera" kit (for cheap from one of the big wholesalers, can't remember the manufacturer) and asked me to set
by eric_h 10y ago
Indeed. My mom got an internet connected "security camera" kit (for cheap from one of the big wholesalers, can't remember the manufacturer) and asked me to set it up.
The hardware was nice, cameras did a reliable 1080p full color, but the whole reason my mom wanted it was so she could check in while she and my dad were traveling (and also sneak a peek at her bird feeders while she was away; avid birder, that one).
So, I hooked that thing up to the network and did a port scan on it... First noticed - it's listening to port 22, auth is a googleable default password. It supports UPnP to punch a hole through the NAT and serve up video on another port. OS on the server box is some slightly customized version of linux with an _old_ kernel.
So I said, "Sure mom, I can set this up for you. We're going to need to get you a new firewall, it'll probably be easiest to put a *nix box in front of your wifi access point, then we can set up a tunnel between the isolated camera server and a locked down outside server that only you have access to so we can be sure that no one else is looking at those cameras. Should only take me a few hours, and we'll need to buy a box to run the firewall, and then a small monthly fee to keep the internet accessible server running"
Her response, "but it says on the box that it's easy to setup for outside access!". Mine: "It's easy to setup for everyone to access, much more involved if you want to make sure it's only you who has access".
Admittedly, it did have some authentication for accessing the video streams, but I didn't trust that thing as far as I could throw it; I'm glad she decided not to go through the trouble of getting it working (but mostly because I'm lazy and didn't want to have to setup and support that damn thing).
I can only imagine that the people who bought that device and didn't have a security paranoid person to help them set it up are all contributing to this most recent DDoS attack.
- merb 10y agoHer response, "but it says on the box that it's easy to setup for outside access!". Mine: "It's easy to setup for everyone to access, much more involved if you want to make sure it's only you who has access" well that was a pretty clever answer, I needed to laught about that :D Basically the commercial was right :D "easy to setup for outside access" that didn' implied a single person ^^
- paulddraper 10y ago> Admittedly, it did have some authentication for accessing the video streams, but I didn't trust that thing as far as I could throw it So...you wanted to have authentication and it has authentication...I must be missing something.
- stephen_g 10y agoIt may not have been over HTTP, so possible to be sniffed. Or, even if it did have HTTPS, it might not generate keys in a secure way (or might use the same certificate as other devices). And you don't know if there are hidden backdoor accounts that might be found eventually... So, yeah, it makes sense to block it - personally I block IOT devices from the Internet entirely (and don't let them initiate requests to my local network even) and use a VPN (IPSEC/IKEv2). That wouldn't work for devices that connect to cloud services, so I'd have to set up new firewall rules if I got one of them.
- eric_h 10y agoLate response, but yes - there was no https support whatsoever on this thing. Authentication was some custom shit and intended to be passed over the internet in clear text.
- gaius 10y agoSo...you wanted to have authentication and it has authentication...I must be missing something You missed that you could SSH into it with a default password that is easy to find on a web search.
- paulddraper 10y agoSo... don't use that default password?
- drieddust 10y agoI will be interested if you take time to write this up.
- smsm42 10y agoThe problem here is there's nearly zero incentive to do it right. I mean, ok, let's say the worst - somebody breaks in the box. For a regular person, worst thing somebody would get access to their DVR. As long as it keeps working as DVR, they couldn't care less. Yes, this DVR would also serve as botnet bot, but the owner doesn't care. It doesn't hurt them - except when Twitter goes down but they don't make the link between them not configuring the DVR properly and Twitter going down. Until we find a way to make the incentives work in right direction, nothing really would change...
- smn1234 10y agowhy not generate a cert based off mac address and allow customer to use that