Symantec: Google Glass still vulnerable to Wi-Fi attack

Google fixed one Wi-Fi security problem with its wearable computer Glass, but Symantec says there's another problem, which has been a long-known weakness in wireless networking.

The security vendor has been analyzing Google Glass in its labs and found a second issue that is just as harmful as the now-patched QR-code vulnerability found by Lookout Mobile Security, which was made public earlier this week.

Many Wi-Fi devices regularly look for networks that they have been connected to before, wroteCandid Wueest, a threat researcher for Symantec. The behavior is convenient for users, since they don't have to manually connect to a known network, he wrote.

But for as little as US$100, a hacker can buy a device that impersonates the known Wi-Fi network by borrowing the network's name, known as its SSID (Service Set Identifier).

If a mobile device such as Google Glass looks for a known network with the SSID of "myPrivateWiFi," a device called the Wi-Fi Pineapple can respond, pretending it is the network.

Wi-Fi Pineapple is intended as a tool for security researchers. It sits between a targeted device and the Internet. Once it has tricked a Wi-Fi device into thinking it is the legitimate network, it can then spy on the data traffic.

If the traffic between a pair of Google Glasses and a remote server is unencrypted, an attacker using Wi-Fi Pineapple can view it, a major privacy and security problem known as a man-in-the-middle attack (MITM).
The issue isn't exclusive to Google Glass and could affect any device used, for example, by someone in a coffee shop. Savvy laptop and mobile phone users may be able to take steps to prevent data from leaking by using a VPN (Virtual Private Network). But the keyboard-less interface of Google Glass could make thwarting this style of attack more complicated.

In early June, Google fixed the vulnerability found by Lookout, which found that Glass would scan a QR Code instructing it to connect to a malicious Wi-Fi access point. Lookout, which told Google of the problem in May, then directed Glass to a malicious website that ran a known Android 4.04 vulnerability, which gave the security vendor complete control over the glasses.

Google issued several fixes, including one that required users to approve instructions contained in QR codes.
The fundamental problem of Wi-Fi devices looking for known networks isn't an easy one to solve, Wueest wrote. Devices could check a hardware identifier, called the MAC (Media Access Control) address, of a Wi-Fi router and match it with the SSID. But MAC addresses are easily faked, he wrote.

"The more practicable solution is to treat every network as hostile and ensure that all the applications use encrypted communications like SSL [Secure Sockets Layers] or tunnel through a VPN," Wueest wrote.
Google couldn't immediately be reached for comment.

Shadowlock Trojan demands odd ransom, Symantec says

Symantec has discovered a bizarre ransom Trojan that eschews the usual demand for payment in favor of asking its victims to fill in an online survey to get an unlock code.

Given the name Shadowlock by the security firm, the underlying engineering of the Trojan is much the same as any one of the numerous other examples of ransomware.

Infected Windows PCs display a dialogue box asking for the unlock code and the hint that they can find it after visiting a website linking to a list of different prize surveys or by downloading unnecessary software such as a media player.

The box won't clear until the survey code has been entered, and can't be closed using the task manager; attempts to delve into matters using the command prompt, PowerShell, Regedit, or MSConfig are also denied as is the ability to bypass it by invoking a restore point.

Entering the code incorrectly three times, or just attempting to close the dialogue, causes the system to shut down. Upon a reboot the same dialogue reappears after 20 seconds, the length of time the users have to try and shut it down using the Task Manager.

Shadowlock can also nix browsers and certain system tools as well as consume free resources and disable the Windows firewall.

Symantec was able to decompile the Trojan, which was built using .NET, well enough to discover some of its more eccentric secrets. For example, it also includes an Easter egg, a hidden routine that plays a the five-note theme from the 1976 alien abduction film Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
Other capabilities include being able to reverse mouse buttons and open the CD tray or open Windows utilities.

"It turns out the malware author has a sense of humor," wrote Symantec researcher, Fred Gutierrez in his blog on Shadowlock.

He speculates that the survey tactic might be an experiment to see much response it gets, or perhaps part of a genuine money-making scheme.


"These functions (as well as others) may find themselves being used in a future variant." 

Symantec: Google Glass still vulnerable to Wi-Fi attack

Google fixed one Wi-Fi security problem with its wearable computer Glass, but Symantec says there’s another problem, which has been a long-known weakness in wireless networking.

The security vendor has been analyzing Google Glass in its labs and found a second issue that is just as harmful as the now-patched QR-code vulnerability found by Lookout Mobile Security, which was made public earlier this week.

Many Wi-Fi devices regularly look for networks that they have been connected to before, wrote Candid Wueest, a threat researcher for Symantec. The behavior is convenient for users, since they don’t have to manually connect to a known network, he wrote.

But for as little as $100, a hacker can buy a device that impersonates the known Wi-Fi network by borrowing the network’s name, known as its SSID (Service Set Identifier).

If a mobile device such as Google Glass looks for a known network with the SSID of “myPrivateWiFi,” a device called the Wi-Fi Pineapple can respond, pretending it is the network.

Wi-Fi Pineapple is intended as a tool for security researchers. It sits between a targeted device and the Internet. Once it has tricked a Wi-Fi device into thinking it is the legitimate network, it can then spy on the data traffic.

If the traffic between a pair of Google Glasses and a remote server is unencrypted, an attacker using Wi-Fi Pineapple can view it, a major privacy and security problem known as a man-in-the-middle attack (MITM).
The issue isn’t exclusive to Google Glass and could affect any device used, for example, by someone in a coffee shop. Savvy laptop and mobile phone users may be able to take steps to prevent data from leaking by using a VPN (Virtual Private Network). But the keyboard-less interface of Google Glass could make thwarting this style of attack more complicated.

In early June, Google fixed the vulnerability found by Lookout, which found that Glass would scan a QR Code instructing it to connect to a malicious Wi-Fi access point. Lookout, which told Google of the problem in May, then directed Glass to a malicious website that ran a known Android 4.04 vulnerability, which gave the security vendor complete control over the glasses.

Google issued several fixes, including one that required users to approve instructions contained in QR codes.
The fundamental problem of Wi-Fi devices looking for known networks isn’t an easy one to solve, Wueest wrote. Devices could check a hardware identifier, called the MAC (Media Access Control) address, of a Wi-Fi router and match it with the SSID. But MAC addresses are easily faked, he wrote.

“The more practicable solution is to treat every network as hostile and ensure that all the applications use encrypted communications like SSL [Secure Sockets Layers] or tunnel through a VPN,” Wueest wrote.