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Firefox Extension Makes Social-Network ID Spoofing Trivial
Orome1 writes "A simple-to-use Firefox plugin presented yesterday at Toorcon in San Diego has hit the security world with the realization that squabbles about Facebook's changing privacy settings and various privacy breaches simply miss the point. 'When it comes to user privacy, SSL is the elephant in the room,' said Eric Butler, the developer of the extension in question, dubbed Firesheep. By installing and running it, anyone can 'sniff out' the unencrypted HTTP sessions currently allowing users on that network segment to access social networks, online services and other website requiring a login, and simply hijack them and impersonate the user."
I don't dispute author's work or goals (I've been using SSH tunneling on public WiFi for years to prevent just this) but he should have mentioned that clicking on information you gathered (and logging in as another user without their concent) is very likely against federal laws in US (and likely most other locations). Just gathering this information can likely be argued to be illegal as well (wiretapping?)
So be careful where you click..
Ha ha, anon is pwned :D
here: http://codebutler.com/firesheep
They apparently call it "sidejacking", i.e. sniffing other users cookies from a wifi, and using it. Not new, but made userfriendly.
NB: The message above might reflect my opinion right now, but not necessarily tomorrow or next year.
someone in the same network sniffing your unencrypted traffic is facebooks fault ? or the fact that someone made a UI to do it for dummies ?
What is the cpu use and heat of the user base requesting and using ssl vs this bad news?
"Double-click on someone, and you're instantly logged in as them."
Whats the the extra use 15-20%? vs unencrypted HTTP.
Would ssl been left off allow creative law enforcement uses?
Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
Another point does not "miss the point".
Transport security != corporate marketing of private data
"You have liberated me from thought."
I used to do sniffing and stuff like this a couple years ago and the biggest hurdle was finding a wireless adapter which would allow promiscuous mode. aircrack sells one that comes with 1st party drivers to allow sniffing. I used a linksys usb adapter since there were 3rd party drivers that allowed it.
unless something has changed I thought most wireless driver didn't support promiscuous mode for sniffing.
The article is extremely light on details. The plugin's page doesn't tell much either. I'm curious how does it capture the WIFI packets. Is it possible to capture them when not in monitor mode?
the realization that squabbles about Facebook's changing privacy settings and various privacy breaches simply miss the point.
I'm much more concerned about that then someone on my network stealing my password. If they're on my network, they could steal my password? This is not new, nor is it news. The number of people on the internet out to get your personal information is much, much higher than the number of people on your network out to do the same.
This is just a high-tech version of this:
'When it comes to user privacy, other people are the elephant in the room,' said SudoGhost, random douchebag author of the post in question, dubbed 'Other People in the Room'. By being in the room and watching the screen/keyboard, anyone can 'sniff out' not only the unencrypted HTTP sessions, but virtually any keystroke, allowing your mom to access social networks, online services and other website requiring a login, and simply hijack them and find out where you really were Saturday night."
... that the bleating masses who so readily rushed to put their entire lives and details on social networking sites despite all the warnings are now running around shouting at all the chickens that are coming home to roost?
For the rest of us with some common sense this is just hilarious.
Kudos to FaceBook and most other networks for NOT using encryption for anything but the log in, making such hacks possible !
I know that HTTPS would put some stress on the servers, specially with something as big as Facebook.
But, come-on. Social networks have become so important for some people, that the risks of vandalism/identiy spoof/deffamation, etc. are significant and would benefit from some more protection.
"Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
It's "just" WiFi cookie theft. You can do that easily with wireshark and copy/paste, this just makes it a bit faster. The problem lies in session cookies, and this is a problem known for what, almost a decade now?
Emotions! In your brain!
It is wifi sniffing. The data is in the air. All you need is to be in the range of client's radio transmissions. If the network is encrypted then you need WEP/WPA(2) key.
What permissions do you need for this? Do you have to be the owner of the network in order to sniff things out in this manner? Or is it possible for me to steal accounts off a public network?
None, no, and most emphatically yes.
And here's the link: https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere
This works on any network segment, including wired. How many people do you know that use Facebook, Amazon, etc. from their desks? Sure, your traffic could always be monitored by the PFY's in the data center, but now your pointy-haired boss has a tool that allows him to see what you've been buying. No thanks.
Leaving aside md5 cracks (use another algo if you want):
md5 the password with Javascript on the client end before sending it. Then un-md5 it with PHP on the server.
Plenty of security-conscious CMS's have been doing this before Mark Z even thought of an electronic facebook.
I'm not a lawyer, but I play one on the Internet. Blog
Someone, who obviously must have sniffed out my wireless cookies. -Shame on them.
https everywhere is indeed a great extension, and everybody should be using it.
But some of the services that Firesheep target don't offer an https option *at all*. This is no rebuttal, it only proves Firesheep developer's point : these services have an unappropriate level of security.
The worst offender is probably Yahoo! Mail. They don't even offer https to their paying customers! For one of the leading webmail service this is utterly unacceptable. https for login is a fig leaf, the only thing this does is give users a false sense of security.
What permissions do you need for this? Do you have to be the owner of the network in order to sniff things out in this manner? Or is it possible for me to steal accounts off a public network?
You need to be administrator to place your network card into promiscious mode or rfmon for wireless.
So in a public wifi network you're screwed. In a public ethernet network it depends if it's a switched or hubbed network. But even in a switched network you could be vulnerable to this via ARP poisoning.
The takeaway is what we've known for decades, if you want private communications use encryption.
This is why I use this Chrome extension - https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/flcpelgcagfhfoegekianiofphddckof
Basically for any site you go to it AUTOMATICALLY redirects you to the SSL version of that site if it exists. Including ssl.facebook.com.
Yes ssl.facebook.com should be the default, as should most sites, but until they are this extension is invaluable IMO.