Slashdot Mirror
The DARPA-Funded Power Strip That Will Hack Your Network
An anonymous reader writes "The Power Pwn may look like a power strip, but it's actually a DARPA-funded hacking tool for launching remotely-activated Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Ethernet attacks. If you see one around the office, make a point to ask if it's supposed to be there. Pwnie Express, which developed the $1,295 tool, says it's 'a fully-integrated enterprise-class penetration testing platform.' That's great, but the company also notes its 'ingenious form-factor' (again, look at the above picture) and 'highly-integrated/modular hardware design,' which to me makes it look like the perfect gizmo for nefarious purposes."
Omg Pwnies!
...for the appearance of this device.
Part of a penetration test should be, and I don't think I need to remind those who are active in the cybersecurity industry of this(!), creating hacking devices that look as if they're part of the furniture - like they're supposed to be there.
Discuss.
Operation Guillotine is in effect.
I predict these will start showing up in corporate parking lots. "Ooh! Look, someone dropped a power strip! I've been telling my boss I need more outlets in my cubicle since he won't let me charge my phone by plugging it into the computer anymore... this will do nicely! And is that a USB stick on the ground? Oh, almost got me there. I know better than to plug that in."
The opposition (who ever they may be) has figured out that we were using this device. Word has gotten out. We no longer need it. You may now do with it as you wish...
Minus the development of capital costs of mass production facilities and the engineering to make the internals readily production-capable.
There are actual issues involved in a production product which homebrew doesn't solve, but you'd never know that to read Slashdot.
And yet while every single time someone does something interesting there's a snivelling asshole like you there to poo-pooh how "easy it would be to just...", we never, ever hear of your much cheaper yet equally effective copies of the thing in question for some reason which I just can't figure out.
Instead of being bitter and resentful towards those who actually create new things, why don't you go and invent some yourself?
Oh wait, that's like... real work and effort and thinking and shit. Back to the TeeVee it is!
I work for the government, and if I were ever to contract to the government to make something I would charge an arm and a leg for it because they burn a lot of time in pointless changes, process and administration. Plus they haven't got a clue and pay whatever you charge.
It should be a dismissable offence it bring this thing any where near where you work.
All you need is to ship with UPS a sealed carton of ten or twenty of these devices, each in its own professionally printed box, to the maintenance department of the target company. Lowly workers, just a notch above janitors, will not be asking their bosses about such a simple item, and power strips are always needed. You can do this even if you never set foot into the country where the target company resides.