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Researchers have uncovered a rash of ongoing attacks designed to damage routers and other Internet-connected appliances so badly that they become effectively inoperable.
PDoS attack bots (short for "permanent denial-of-service") scan the Internet for Linux-based routers, bridges, or similar Internet-connected devices that require only factory-default passwords to grant remote administrator access. Once the bots find a vulnerable target, they run a series of highly debilitating commands that wipe all the files stored on the device, corrupt the device's storage, and sever its Internet connection. Given the cost and time required to repair the damage, the device is effectively destroyed, or bricked, from the perspective of the typical consumer.
Over a four-day span last month, researchers from security firm Radware detected roughly 2,250 PDoS attempts on devices they made available in a specially constructed honeypot. The attacks came from two separate botnets—dubbed BrickerBot.1 and BrickerBot.2—with nodes for the first located all around the world. BrickerBot.1 eventually went silent, but even now the more destructive BrickerBot.2 attempts a log-on to one of the Radware-operated honeypot devices roughly once every two hours. The bots brick real-world devices that have the telnet protocol enabled and are protected by default passwords, with no clear sign to the owner of what happened or why.
See also this related blog post inspired by this article.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by coolgopher on Tuesday April 11 2017, @12:18AM (10 children)
It's hard to condone what amounts to vandalism, but I'm certainly on the fence on this one. Maybe, just maybe, this could help improve security across the board. If people stop bying brand X because they or someone they know have had their device fail inexplicably, that would finally provide the economic incentive to the manufacturers. And if botnets like this stick around, it wouldn't just be "I know of person Y who had their X fail", it'll be "their replacement X failed too, never buying that stuff again!".
Then again, maybe I'm dreaming.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 11 2017, @12:32AM
I've started calling this kind of worm "vigilanteware".
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Snotnose on Tuesday April 11 2017, @01:10AM (7 children)
It's hard to condone what amounts to vandalism, but I'm certainly on the fence on this one.
So, what if somebody posted online that every deadbolt a company made could be defeated simply by sliding a hair clip into the tumblers? Not a lockpick, not a master key, simply a straight piece of steel.
I for one would hope the company that made that defective piece of crap got sued out of existance.
Not seeing a fence here, just seeing incompetent asshats being forced to use common sense or, if they can't afford it, going out of business.
When the dust settled America realized it was saved by a porn star.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by coolgopher on Tuesday April 11 2017, @01:56AM (2 children)
The difference being that for your example to match, it'd be not just posting about how to defeat it, but someone doing the rounds and opening all such deadbolts and jamming your door into a permanently open (or closed) position.
I have no issue at all with someone posting the how-to (though I'd certainly prefer them giving the company a heads-up and a chance to fix their shit first). Responsible disclosure is a Good Thing(tm) in my books.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Snotnose on Tuesday April 11 2017, @02:28AM
I fail to see the difference. If I go to Home Depot and buy an expensive lock for $80, and you can hack it with a straight piece of steel, then.... Fark Home Depot and the Vendor, when it comes out I lost my TV/DVR to some crack addict with a hairpin and an internet connection I'm not going after the crack addict.
When the dust settled America realized it was saved by a porn star.
(Score: 2) by ilsa on Wednesday April 12 2017, @10:23PM
While responsible disclosure is normally a good thing, that depends on the manufacturer actually giving a shit.
As we've seen absurdly often now, this is not the case. And even if the manufacturer did care, the likelyhood that a user would follow up with security fixes is extremely low. That could either be due to simple lack of knowing, or not giving a shit, but the end result is the same.
Side story: I remember a neighbour asking for my help because their ISP cut them off for having a virus. He was adamant that he was not responsible for the problem, and that the ISP should have prevented the virus from getting onto his machine. I tried to explain to him that his computer is his responsibility but he wouldn't have it. I ended up telling him that he needed to reformat his hard drive to get rid of the virus, and there was nothing else I could do.
So yeah, this IOT mess is an inevitable consequence of the current attitudes people have. While I can't condone this kind of vigilante action since it's damaging private property, I also can't say I feel the slightest bit sorry for the people affected, and I am happy that this is happening. There are way too many people and manufacturers coasting along expecting other people to work around their irresponsibility, and the problem will not get better until they start feeling some pain.
(Score: 2) by gringer on Tuesday April 11 2017, @02:21AM (3 children)
Like this?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0q7Bnp8ZvY&t=1m1s [youtube.com]
I'm pretty sure Kryptonite are still around, and those locks are still being produced.
Ask me about Sequencing DNA in front of Linus Torvalds [youtube.com]
(Score: 2) by gringer on Tuesday April 11 2017, @03:01AM (1 child)
Okay, not those *exact* locks; it looks like Kryptonite (and other similar manufacturers) wizened up to that about 8 years ago, so that any new locks won't be susceptible to exactly the same hack.
Ask me about Sequencing DNA in front of Linus Torvalds [youtube.com]
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Tuesday April 11 2017, @04:34AM
I think Assa abloy locks are susceptible to a similar defeat.
(Score: 1) by DBeemer on Friday April 14 2017, @08:06AM
I had 2 of those locks with the ballpoint problem and they issued a recall and free replacement in my country.
So after a month or so after returning my locks I received the "Improved" versions, now with a square key design.
I already owned a heavy chain lock with the same key design.
After a couple of weeks I parked my motorcycle at my parents home and went by car to my work. During the day I get a call from my mom, that she needed to move my bike because it stood in the way of something. I replied that she would have to wait because the key to that lock is on my keychain that I had with me at the moment. She Replied, no I already moved your bike......
Turns out the key of my heavy chain lock ALSO fits on the "Improved" Kryptonite locks. So still crap after replacement.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by kaszz on Tuesday April 11 2017, @02:44AM
Yeah, people that buy shit and expose others to DDoS botnets got the favor returned.. ;-)
Angry consumers will lash out on distributors that will lash out on manufacturers.