4 ms·

Someone would have to load this firmware onto your devices, either with local physical access or remote root access to your system. Are you suggesting it should

Someone would have to load this firmware onto your devices, either with local physical access or remote root access to your system. Are you suggesting it should be impossible for anyone to modify the firmware on their peripherals/NICs/etc, or else the world will end or similar? Is it only safe to allow us iPads?

SV_BubbleTime 5y ago
>Is it only safe to allow us iPads? Of course not. But, the meat of the discussion is that everyone agrees it IS safe to use iPads. So, is there a practical middle ground?
gricardo99 5y ago
I'm pointing out my conclusion: nothing is safe... yikes! And no, I'm not worried that because of this article anyone can keylog my stuff. It's the realization from OPs summary that there are many attack vectors, and vulnerabilities hiding in and between layers and components. iPads are no different in that respect. Seriously, how do we get passed the current state of zero-days and major vulnerabilities cropping up on the reg? Some ideas from other commenters here aren't entirely convincing to me: require open source, require software standards (both of which would need to apply to hardware/silicon as well). I'm honestly looking for some thoughts on how to build a more secure digital future (Links to articles or studies are welcome).
- ploxiln 5y ago
  Use less software. But really, I think some perspective is needed on what is "safe". Is riding in a car "safe"? Is eating food from the supermarket "safe"? Can you ABSOLUTELY GUARANTEE that it's IMPOSSIBLE to screw it up? How did my parents survive for 60 years under these UNSAFE conditions? I think electronic devices can be pretty damn safe, even without totally locked-down firmware and secure-boot. They can be flashed with low-level firmware at the hardware level (SPI or JTAG or similar), then boot trusted install media, wipe the mass storage and install fresh. Then, keep it minimal, keep it under control. Don't install and use 20k components/libraries which you are not familiar with and of which hundreds want to update every other day. At least, be familiar with all the processes and daemons running. Either you should know why they're there, or they should not be there. You don't need a firewall if no process is listening for connections (and if you need a firewall to block it, why are you running it ?!) Just run less junk.
  - gricardo99 5y ago
    good advice for the above average tech-savvy user, but alas useless for >90% of users.
- dmos62 5y ago
  Programs are riddled with mistakes. Just because you can point a finger and say zero-day, doesn't mean that there's a single solution to this problem. Nothing _is_ safe; life is inherently unsafe.

SV_BubbleTime 5y ago

>Is it only safe to allow us iPads? Of course not. But, the meat of the discussion is that everyone agrees it IS safe to use iPads. So, is there a practical middle ground?

gricardo99 5y ago

I'm pointing out my conclusion: nothing is safe... yikes! And no, I'm not worried that because of this article anyone can keylog my stuff. It's the realization from OPs summary that there are many attack vectors, and vulnerabilities hiding in and between layers and components. iPads are no different in that respect. Seriously, how do we get passed the current state of zero-days and major vulnerabilities cropping up on the reg? Some ideas from other commenters here aren't entirely convincing to me: require open source, require software standards (both of which would need to apply to hardware/silicon as well). I'm honestly looking for some thoughts on how to build a more secure digital future (Links to articles or studies are welcome).

ploxiln 5y ago
Use less software. But really, I think some perspective is needed on what is "safe". Is riding in a car "safe"? Is eating food from the supermarket "safe"? Can you ABSOLUTELY GUARANTEE that it's IMPOSSIBLE to screw it up? How did my parents survive for 60 years under these UNSAFE conditions? I think electronic devices can be pretty damn safe, even without totally locked-down firmware and secure-boot. They can be flashed with low-level firmware at the hardware level (SPI or JTAG or similar), then boot trusted install media, wipe the mass storage and install fresh. Then, keep it minimal, keep it under control. Don't install and use 20k components/libraries which you are not familiar with and of which hundreds want to update every other day. At least, be familiar with all the processes and daemons running. Either you should know why they're there, or they should not be there. You don't need a firewall if no process is listening for connections (and if you need a firewall to block it, why are you running it ?!) Just run less junk.
- gricardo99 5y ago
  good advice for the above average tech-savvy user, but alas useless for >90% of users.
dmos62 5y ago
Programs are riddled with mistakes. Just because you can point a finger and say zero-day, doesn't mean that there's a single solution to this problem. Nothing _is_ safe; life is inherently unsafe.