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UART or Serial Port is the first thing that you need when developing embedded systems. It is simple, easy to hook up to your Laptop (via USB Serial convertors).

UART or Serial Port is the first thing that you need when developing embedded systems. It is simple, easy to hook up to your Laptop (via USB Serial convertors). With terminal emulators like Teraterm, Putty (or the nefarious Hyperterminal) or Minicom, you can get to see what's happening on the device. 1. All devices running linux will have /dev/console tied to UART. 2. For others, typically a printf routine would write to UART. The problem the article talks about occurs when the OEM "forgets" to turn off the UART (either in software or just by breaking the pins during manufacturing).

csense 13y ago
> The problem the article talks about occurs when the OEM "forgets" to turn off the UART (either in software or just by breaking the pins during manufacturing). Did you read the article? He's not hacking commercial/industrial devices like gas pumps by driving to a gas station and using a USB-serial adapter to physically attach a laptop or smartphone. Rather, the owners of the gas pumps legitimately attached a serial-to-Ethernet translator themselves to allow applications on their TCP/IP network to control the gas pump hardware. But they didn't secure the connection with an effective firewall or authentication requirement, so now not just the legitimate application, but anyone on the public Internet, can send commands to the pump.
bobdvb 13y ago
I agree the article is unfair to say that serial connections are old technology and outmoded. The serial connection is a useful tool for electronics designers and engineers because it is very simple to implement & adds almost no incremental cost to the design. Even if it is internet connected, your "smart" TV has serial connections which you probably can't access but they are there for the designers (not for the general public). Yes, domestically serial has gone the way of the floppy disk, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have a purpose (a but like print journalism really).

csense 13y ago

> The problem the article talks about occurs when the OEM "forgets" to turn off the UART (either in software or just by breaking the pins during manufacturing). Did you read the article? He's not hacking commercial/industrial devices like gas pumps by driving to a gas station and using a USB-serial adapter to physically attach a laptop or smartphone. Rather, the owners of the gas pumps legitimately attached a serial-to-Ethernet translator themselves to allow applications on their TCP/IP network to control the gas pump hardware. But they didn't secure the connection with an effective firewall or authentication requirement, so now not just the legitimate application, but anyone on the public Internet, can send commands to the pump.

bobdvb 13y ago

I agree the article is unfair to say that serial connections are old technology and outmoded. The serial connection is a useful tool for electronics designers and engineers because it is very simple to implement & adds almost no incremental cost to the design. Even if it is internet connected, your "smart" TV has serial connections which you probably can't access but they are there for the designers (not for the general public). Yes, domestically serial has gone the way of the floppy disk, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have a purpose (a but like print journalism really).