Attack Of The Dreamcasts

kevin_conaway writes "A pair of coders are now suggesting that it is possible, with a modified dreamcast system running Linux to sneek into an office building and stick it on a network drop and leave. The dreamcast will then probe for ways to connect to the outside world. They say they have created similar software for iPAQs and a special bootable cdroms for print servers and similar boxes. Just a reminder that are networks need to be as secure on the inside as they should be on the outside. Get the story here."

Comments

Yeah, right.

[autechre]

"availability of an Ethernet adaptor"?

You almost have to kill someone to get a network adaptor for the Dreamcast. I'm not even sure they're being manufactured anymore (I wouldn't think so), but there are a few on eBay; the cheapest one is $60.

Besides, as other posters have mentioned, a Dreamcast doesn't exactly look inconspicuous to me, especially if some person I don't recognise is carrying one around in my building.

Real Risk

[stoolpigeon]

for those of you w/real reasons to be concerned- would be that if these guys have thought of this - who else already has something much better in a nice small, concealable package.

And then think about how many businesses don't even come close to providing physical security to all the ports that connect to their network. Sure the computer room is locked- but how many cleaning people are in the offices at night? Usually if you worry about them at all- it would be that they steal, not leave something behind.

I had to do some work once at a call center for a client of ours. A large credit card company.

I pulled up to their building but it was this big glass box and I wasn't sure where the entrance was. I just walked around until I found a door. It was open and their were people standing around smoking. So I walked in. I was in the back by the break room.

I wandered around in there for 10 minutes or so until I found the front desk. When I walked into the lobby from inside the building and asked for the guy I was supposed to meet she was pretty freaked out. They brought up security people and asked how I got in, etc.

I hope my credit card company isn't that easy to get into. But I'd be surprised if its much more secure. I wouldn't be surprised it it is less secure.

Something to think about.

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Re:how is this any different

[greg_barton]

Heck, just use an EPIA based system. Cheaper than a Dreamcast. Boot from a CF card. Fanless. Silent.

Security research project addressing this issue

[Ryu2]

Check out the SPINACH project at Stanford: http://mosquitonet.stanford.edu/publications/spina ch.html

It's designed to precisely address this issue by limiting network access from hosts whose Hardware Ethernet addresses are unknown to the local subnet only (not past the router) until it is authenticated (by some password or other scheme). Thus, if you put a Dreamcast on a SPINACH network, it could only reach hosts on the immediate subnet, unless you spoofed the MAC address or something...