Slashdot Mirror
The Black Hat Wi-Fi Exploit
Joe Barr writes to tell us that while many have heard that an Apple was exploited in order to install a rootkit at the recent BlackHat security conference, most people don't know the details of how it works. This is no mistake, it seems that the researchers who demonstrated the flaw were intentionally vague. Some theorize that this is in response to the real or perceived threat of legal action similar to the situation with previous Blackhat presenter, Michael Lynn.
Actually, you WERE told how to prevent an attack. Maybe not outright, but it was there. The original slashdot report http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/08/03/129 234 said that "Machines are vulnerable if they have wireless enabled and are set to connect to any available wireless network". This is enough information to secure your system. Simply tell it not to connect to any available wireless network. Only allow it to connect networks you have specified. Tada. No cash needed for this fix.
You can throw money at me instead, if you feel the need.
"If you make people think they're thinking, they'll love you; But if you really make them think, they'll hate you." - DM