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The "Rickmote Controller" Can Hijack Any Google Chromecast
redletterdave writes Dan Petro, a security analyst for the Bishop Fox IT consulting firm, built a proof of concept device that's able to hack into any Google Chromecasts nearby to project Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up," or any other video a prankster might choose. The "Rickmote," which is built on top of the $35 Raspberry Pi single board computer, finds a local Chromecast device, boots it off the network, and then takes over the screen with multimedia of one's choosing. But it gets worse for the victims: If the hacker leaves the range of the device, there's no way to regain control of the Chromecast. Unfortunately for Google, this is a rather serious issue with the Chromecast device that's not too easy to fix, as the configuration process is an essential part of the Chromecast experience.
Per TFA - you can totally point it to goatse rather than Rick Astley.
Although for some people, there's little actionable difference between the two.
An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
That's right up there with the Windows Explorrer thing that executed arbitrary code from a bitmap file when you visited the directory it lived in. Kudos to Google for keeping up.
That's not what it says in the post: "The 'Rickmote,' which is built on top of the $35 Raspberry Pi single board computer, finds a local Chromecast device, boots it off the network, and then takes over the screen with multimedia of one's choosing. ... But it gets worse for the victims: If the hacker leaves the range of the device, there's no way to regain control of the Chromecast."
So ... yeah, it's never gonna give you up.
Prevent Windows piracy. Use Linux instead.
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My first program:
Hell Segmentation fault
This is a general problem with devices that are "paired". How do you securely establish the initial connection, when neither side knows anything about the other?
The secure solutions involve some shared secret between the two devices. This requires a secure transmission path between the devices, such as typing in a generated key (like a WPA2 key) or physically carrying a crypto key carrier to each device (this is how serious cryptosystems work).
Semi-secure systems involve things like creating a short period of temporary vulnerability (as with Bluetooth pairing). There's a scheme for sharing between cellphones where you bump the phones together, and they both sense the deceleration at close to the same time.
Quote the article: "When the Chromecast receives the “deauth” command, it returns to its configuration mode, leaving it open for a device — in this case, the Rickmote — to configure it. At that point, the Rickmote tells the Chromecast to connect to its own WiFi network, at which point, Google’s streaming stick is effectively hacked."
Imagine Dr. Evil making air quotes: "Security."
http://www.tnet.com/products/devices/chromecast/resetbutton
it does.
Holy shit! I was pretty surprised to hear about a security hole in Chromecast, but I was really flabbergasted to hear about your DOG THAT CAN FUCKING READ!
25 seconds of holding a button, and your device is yours again. It's annoying, but it's not like an attacker is stealing your identity and financial information with this.
https://support.google.com/chr...
... there's no way to regain control of the Chromecast unless you RTFM and press the reset button
> Where's the factory-reset button when you need it?
It's on the Chromecast.
> They need to be hardware buttons
It's a hardware button.
Waiting for the Google Glass version Rickmote. That one has endless possibilities...
Light a fire for a man and he'll be warm for a day. Light a man on fire and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.
Hence, for the vast majority, there's no way to regain control of the Chromecast.