嵌入式系统将成为骇客们的下一个目标

当嵌入式应用结合无线连接功能时，将会带来什么机会呢？答案是成为骇客的天堂！这是Cylance公司CEO Stuart McClure在最近德国纽伦堡“嵌入式系统展”(Embedded World)的专题演讲上所强调的，他认为在迈向连网嵌入式设备的必然趋势时，骇客透过网络进行攻击的风险也越来越高。 Stuart McClure曾经是防毒软件公司McAfee的CTO，目前是安全服务公司Cylance的CEO。这家位于加州的新创公司最近刚从Khosla Ventures与Fairhaven Capital公司获得了1,500万美元的投资。 McClure强调，许多企业并未认真看待安全设计的重要性。他以一款糖尿病患者用的胰岛素泵为例表示，骇客能够改变所测得的供应剂量并加以改变，从而对使用者带来潜在伤害。 根据McClure估计，全球大约有100亿个嵌入式设备，但大部份的设计都未考虑到安全性。虽然早期的嵌入式系统大多是孤立、单独的项目，但随着越来越多的设备实现各种无线和有线连接，其间所建立的互通性也意味着：一旦安全被破坏，便可能存取到更多敏感的信息。 “当今嵌入式系统的安全性不受天候影响，同时也具有弹性度、可用性以及抗干扰等优势。但这样还不够。而即使采用了加密技术，也往往很轻易地被绕过，” McClure说，“目前，我们只是在进行修补，所做一切都只能说是一种症状的处理。这些症状较简单，所以我们能够解决──但这并不够明智，就算拼命努力也徒劳无功。” McClure例举了一些有关骇客攻击的惊人案例，如入侵自动提款机、医用输液泵，以及波兰罗兹(Lodz) 的电车服务。2008年，一名14岁少年注意到电车司机用红外线遥控器切换电车轨。McClure表示，这名少年破解了电视遥控器的程序代码，将它改装成电车轨控制器，而控制使得电车出轨。手机是最不安全的设备之一，但也是我们准备在上面使用信用卡付费的设备。 McClure也 提到了智能电视。Cylance公司积极地寻找三星最新智能电视(Smart TV)被骇客入侵的可能性，该公司发现采用Wi-Fi和蓝牙这些明显的连接方式都进行了妥善的防护。然而，为了因应传统控制器的需求，最新一代的智能电视 仍采用传统未经验证的红外线传感器。如此一来，McClure说，骇客很可能取得完整的系统资源，特别是智能电视是透过网际网络连接的装置，其中包括了email流量与信用卡卡号等资料，使得用户暴露在资料外泄的风险中。 McClure认为，要实现安全的嵌入式系统，并不会太困难也不至于太过昂贵。McClure指出，大约90%的骇客入侵都采用传统的系统输入方式；8%透过嵌入式处理与软件的出现的问题；令人惊讶的是还有2%则攻击系统输出。 然而，McClure强调，对于嵌入式系统的安全性必须采取更全面的解决方案，同时着重于预防而非治疗。 本文授权编译自EE Times，版权所有，谢绝转载 编译：Susan Hong 参考英文原文：Embedded systems next for hack attacks，by Peter Clarke

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{pagination} Embedded systems next for hack attacks Peter Clarke NUREMBURG, Germany – Put embedded applications and wireless connectivity together and what have you got? A hacker's paradise is the answer according to Stuart McClure, who provided a keynote speech on the opening day of the Embedded World conference here. McClure, a former CTO of antivirus software company McAfee, now leads the security services startup Cylance Inc. (Irvine, Calif.), which has just announced $15 million in funding from Khosla Ventures and Fairhaven Capital. McClure made the point that many companies are casual about secure design and then reluctant to close loop holes. He spoke of an insulin pump that Cylance was able to hack and alter the measured dosage delivered, with the obvious potential for harm to a user. "It's a feature," the vendor said when shown. There are about 10 billion embedded devices worldwide McClure estimated, and many have been designed without much thought to security, he added. While in the early days of embedded systems this tended to be isolated, stand-alone items, increasingly devices are being created with multiple wireless and wired connections and that interconnectivity means that once security is breached there is the possibility to access more sensitive information. "Security in embedded today is weatherproofing, resilience, availability and tamper-proofing. It's not enough. Even with encryption, which can often be easily bypassed," McClure said. "Right now we are just patching. Symptom management is what we are doing. We treat the symptoms because it's easy – but it's a fool's game. You are always chasing your tail." McClure went on to recount some horror stories of hacks on automatic teller machines, on medical infusion pumps, on the tram service in Lodz, Poland, where in 2008 a 14-year old boy noticed the tram drivers were using an IR remote control to switch points ahead of the tram. "He probably brute-forced the codes on his TV remote but he derailed four trams," said McClure. Mobile phones are some of the most insecure devices and yet they are also devices where we are prepared to use credit card number details. One of McClure's last examples is the smart TV. Cylance was eager to find if there was a way to hack the latest Samsung Smart TVs but generally found that the obvious connections such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth were well protected. It was then discovered that to cope with legacy remote controls these latest smart TVs still have a legacy unauthenticated infrared sensor. McClure said that he plans to demonstrate that once in it is possible to gain access to the full system resources; to pose as a user and because smart TVs are a full internet terminal that could include access to email traffic and credit card numbers. McClure denied that it is too difficult or expensive to secure embedded systems against hacks. As well as promoting his latest book "Hacking exposed" McClure gave a quick guide to where effort can be best deployed to close the security loop holes. Some 90 percent of the hacks are made using the conventional inputs of the system. About 8 percent are through faults in the embedded processing and software and a surprising 2 percent are done by attacking the system output. However, McClure's message was that it is necessary to take an holistic approach to the security of embedded systems and to focus on prevention rather than cure. What was not included in McClure's keynote is how the costs and benefits stack up against the pros and cons of such an approach.