For home computer users, the end of the 1980s was the era of 16-bit computers. The challenge facing manufacturers of 8-bit machines through the middle of the decade was to transfer their range and customers to the new hardware, and the different brands each did this in their own way. Commodore and Atari had 68000-based powerhouses, and Apple had their 16-bit-upgraded IIGS for the middle ground below the Mac, but what about Acorn, makers of the BBC Micro? They had the Archimedes, and [RetroBytes] takes us through how they packaged their 32-bit ARM processor for consumers.

The A3000 was the computer you wanted if you were a geeky British kid at the end of that decade, even if an Amiga or an ST was what you got. Schools had bought a few of the desktop Archimedes’, so if you were lucky you’d got to know Arthur and then RiscOS, so you knew just how fast these things were compared to the competition. The video below the break takes a dive into the decisions behind the design of this first ARM consumer product, and along the way it explains a few things we didn’t know at the time. We all know what happened to Acorn through the 1990s and we all use ARM processors today, so it’s a fascinating watch. If only an extra two hundred quid had been in the kitty back then and we could have bought one ourselves.

If you have never used an Archimedes you can get pretty close today with another Cambridge-designed and ARM-powered computer. RiscOS never went away, and you can run it on a Raspberry Pi. As we found, it’s still pretty useful.

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hackaday.com/2024/12/17/the-la…

When you hear the cry of “Man Overboard!” on a ship, it’s an emergency situation. The sea is unkind to those that fall from their vessel, and survival is never guaranteed—even in the most favorable conditions. Raging swell and the dark of night can only make rescue more impossible.

Over the centuries, naval tradition has included techniques to find and recover the person in the water as quickly and safely as possible. These days, though, technology is playing an ever-greater role in such circumstances. Modern man-overboard (MOB) systems are designed to give crews of modern vessels a fighting chance when rescuing those in peril.

A Hard Task

Man overboard recoveries are challenging to execute, because of the unpredictable and rapidly changing conditions at sea. Once a person enters the water, factors like strong currents, wind, waves, and darkness can make it difficult to keep them in sight and quickly maneuver the vessel to their location. Even in calm weather, a victim can be carried away faster than it appears, and thick clothing or heavy gear may limit their mobility, reducing their ability to stay afloat or attract attention. Additionally, communication can be hindered by engine noise, onboard confusion, or the sheer panic of the moment. All of these elements combine to make man overboard scenarios both time-sensitive and complex operations for the crew.

These situations can pose particular difficulties for larger ships. Where a smaller craft might be able to quickly stop to recover a fallen crew member or passenger, larger vessels are much slower to maneuver. Traditional man overboard techniques, such as having crew members point at the victim in the water, can fail to work if the vessel drifts out of visual range. Smaller vessels can have problems, too. With smaller crews, it can be difficult to bring someone back on board while also ensuring the vessel is maneuvered safely.
Simple man-overboard systems for small boats rely on fobs or wrist-straps that communicate via radio. Credit: CrewWatcher
Man-overboard systems aim to help improve the likelihood of survival for those that fall into the water. They come in a variety of forms designed to suit different types of vessel, and the different scenarios they operate in.

For small boats, the most basic systems act as simple alarms, which automatically sound when a person falls overboard. These use small wireless fobs or wrist straps, which communicate with a base station on the boat itself. If the short-range radio link between the two is severed, an alarm is sounded, notifying those on board of the man overboard situation. Many models also feature a water immersion sensor, so the alarm can be raised instantly if someone falls into the sea. For small boats operated by individuals, this can be very useful. There is great benefit in receiving an automatic notification if someone falls into the water, even if nobody on the boat notices the incident directly.

Many of these small-scale systems are also set up to work with smartphones or tablets. They instantly log the position at which the man overboard event occurred, and guide the vessel back to the victim in the water. Soem even come with a special “captain’s fob” wherein the system will cut the boat’s engines in the case the skipper falls overboard. This can be valuable for avoiding a runaway boat scenario.
The MARSS MOBtronic system uses sensor pods installed across a cruise ship to detect man overboard events. Credit: MARSS
These systems are useful for small boats. When it comes to larger vessels like cruise ships, however, the solutions are more advanced. When duly equipped with a man overboard system, these craft are dotted with sensor packages, including cameras, thermal imagers, and LIDAR scanners, all of which are trained on the perimeter of the vessel. These are set up to detect if a human falls overboard, at which point they raise the alarm. The bridge is notified as to the emergency, and the vessel receives directions to the area where the person fell from the ship.

These systems come with additional benefits, too. The sensors that detect a fall can also be used to track a person’s motion in the water. Essentially acting as a high-tech surveillance system trained on the perimeter of the vessel, they can be used to detect unwelcome boarders trying to gain access to the ship as well. They can also detect if someone might be climbing on the side of the ship—a foolish act that is perhaps likely to precede a fall into the water. Indeed, it’s pretty hard to fall off of most cruise ships—the high railings are designed specifically to prevent that. Misadventure plays a role in a significant proportion of man overboard incidents on cruises.
Thermal cameras are particularly useful for detecting man overboard events. Credit: MARSS
This technology is relatively new. It has largely been developed as a result of the The Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act of 2010, which stated that cruise vessels “shell integrate technology that can be used for capturing images of passengers or detecting passengers who have fallen overboard, to the extent that such technology is available.” At the time, advanced man overboard systems did not exist, so the requirement was effectively optional. As covered by USA Today, workable systems have been developed, but they are not yet ubiquitous, as many cruise lines are yet to deploy them across their fleets. An increasing number of vessels are now sailing with such equipment, though MARSS notes that less than 2% of cruise ships are currently fielding effective systems.

The fact remains that falling overboard from a ship is a fraught situation. Statistics from 2018 indicate that of the 1 or 2 people that fell from cruise ships each month, just 17 to 25% were rescued. The hope is that these automated systems will speed responsiveness to man overboard events, and lead to better outcomes. Indeed, in many cases, crews only respond to man overboard incidents hours after victims fall into the water, when the alarm is raised by concerned fellow travelers. This can make even just finding the individual near-impossible. Automated systems have the potential to cut response times to minutes or better, greatly increasing the chances of spotting a person in the water and executing their rescue.

Ultimately, the advancement of automated detection and response systems offers a clear path to improved safety on vessels small and large alike. By sharply cutting the time to raise an alarm, these technologies can dramatically improve the odds of saving a life. As more vessels adopt these systems and integrate them into their safety protocols, we stand to shift the balance, turning dire emergencies into manageable situations, and ultimately, safeguarding more passengers and crew at sea.

hackaday.com/2024/12/17/man-ov…

Nell’ottobre 2024, Cisco ha subito un incidente di sicurezza significativo a causa di una configurazione errata del loro DevHub, che ha permesso di accedere e scaricare dati sensibili.

L’incidente è stato reso pubblico da IntelBroker su BreachForums il 15 di Ottobre scorso, dove è stato annunciato che una parte del breach era disponibile per il download.

Gli attaccanti, tra cui IntelBroker, @zjj e @EnergyWeaponUser hanno pubblicato nuovi dati, grazie ad un’istanza DevHub aperta di Cisco, scaricando 4.5TB di informazioni. I file coinvolti includevano software critici come:

• Cisco C9800-SW-iosxe-wlc.16.11.01
• Cisco IOS XE & XR
• Cisco ISE
• Cisco SASE
• Cisco Umbrella
• Cisco Webex

La dimensione totale dei file disponibili per il download era di 2.9GB, utilizzata come “preview” per attirare potenziali acquirenti per l’intero databreach.

Tattiche, Tecniche e Procedure (TTPs)

Gli attaccanti hanno utilizzato le seguenti tattiche per eseguire l’attacco:

• Sfruttamento di Configurazioni Errate: L’istanza DevHub di Cisco era pubblicamente accessibile senza adeguate misure di autenticazione e controllo degli accessi.

• Esfiltrazione di Dati: Una volta ottenuto l’accesso, gli attori hanno scaricato una vasta quantità di dati, inclusi software e configurazioni critiche.

Implicazioni per la Sicurezza nel Networking

Questo incidente mette in luce diverse vulnerabilità e lezioni importanti per il settore del networking, dimostrando che anche un colosso come Cisco può commettere degli errori.

Le configurazioni errate, ad esempio, possono esporre dati sensibili e sistemi critici. È essenziale implementare rigorosi controlli di accesso e autenticazione per tutte le risorse pubblicamente accessibili.

Condurre audit di sicurezza regolari e valutazioni di vulnerabilità può aiutare a identificare e correggere tempestivamente le esposizioni potenziali.

Le aziende dovrebbero inoltre avere piani di risposta agli incidenti ben definiti per mitigare rapidamente i danni e proteggere i dati dei clienti.

Azioni Correttive di Cisco

Cisco ha risposto all’incidente disabilitando l’accesso pubblico al DevHub e correggendo l’errore di configurazione. Hanno inoltre notificato i clienti interessati e offerto assistenza per la revisione dei file coinvolti. Cisco continua a valutare i file per identificare ulteriori dati sensibili e garantire la sicurezza delle loro risorse.

L’incidente di sicurezza su Cisco DevHub evidenzia l’importanza di una gestione rigorosa delle configurazioni e della sicurezza nel settore del networking. Le aziende devono adottare misure proattive per proteggere le loro risorse e rispondere efficacemente agli incidenti di sicurezza per salvaguardare i dati sensibili e mantenere la fiducia dei clienti.

L'articolo Nuovi dati di Cisco nelle Underground. IntelBroker e Soci pubblicano 4,5 TB proviene da il blog della sicurezza informatica.

Once upon a time, a computer could tell you virtually nothing about an image beyond its file format, size, and color palette. These days, powerful image recognition systems are a part of our everyday lives. They See Your Photos is a simple website that shows you just how much these systems can interpret from a regular photo.

The website simply takes your image submission, runs it through the Google Vision API, and spits back out a description of the image. I tried it out with a photograph of myself, and was pretty impressed with what the vision model saw:

The photo is taken in a lush green forest, with tall trees dominating the background. The foreground features a person, who appears to be the subject of the photograph. The lighting suggests it might be daytime, and the overall color palette is heavily saturated with shades of green, almost artificial in appearance. There’s also some dried vegetation visible to the left, suggesting a natural setting that is possibly a park or woodland area.

The subject is a young to middle-aged Caucasian male with shoulder-length, light-colored hair. He seems serious, perhaps pensive or slightly uneasy. His clothing —a green and yellow checkered shirt over a green and black striped shirt—suggests a casual or outdoorsy lifestyle. He might be of middle to lower-middle class economic standing. It looks like he’s crouching slightly, possibly for the picture. The image lacks metadata on the camera device used or the time the photo was taken. He appears to be alone in the photo, indicating an individualistic or solitary experience.

The saturation level of the greens and yellows is unusually high, hinting at possible digital editing post-capture. There is a very slight blur, particularly noticeable in the background which could be from a smaller aperture or shallow depth of field when captured, creating a focus on the subject. The color alteration and seemingly intentional focus on the subject suggest it may not be a candid shot but rather a posed photograph, possibly with an artistic or stylistic goal.

The system doesn’t get satire or memes, though.
The model did very well—easily determining both the vague type of locale , and the fact that my shirt implies I don’t have a Ferrari at home in my garage. It also picks up on the fact that it was a posed photograph with certain artistic intent.

Back in 2014, the webcomic XKCD stated that it would be an inordinately difficult task for a computer to determine if a digital photo contained a bird. These days, a computer model can tell us what’s in a photo down to the intimate details, and even make amusing assertions as to the lives of the subjects in the image and their intentions. We’ve come a long way, to be sure.

Machine vision is still far from perfect—there are ways to fool systems and areas in which they still don’t stack up to real humans. The only thing we know for certain is that these systems will continue to improve.

hackaday.com/2024/12/17/see-wh…

Siamo in un’era in cui siamo sommersi da un’infinità di segnali e impulsi digitali che, in qualche modo, governano il nostro modo di agire e di interagire con ciò che ci circonda. Ma cosa succederebbe se potessimo hackerare questi segnali e far sì che il mondo risponda ai nostri comandi?

Prendiamo, ad esempio, un dispositivo straordinario come il Flipper Zero: con esso è possibile divertirsi eseguendo attacchi semplici ed efficaci, che nella maggior parte dei casi hanno esito positivo. Ma se ti dicessi che non è necessario possedere un Flipper preconfezionato per riuscire ad aprire la portiera di una Tesla?

Andiamo con ordine. Il Flipper Zero vanta una grande comunità di sviluppatori attivi e competenti, un motivo di orgoglio per chi lo utilizza. Tuttavia, esiste anche un mondo sommerso che si sta sviluppando a ritmi incredibilmente veloci.

In questo mondo, i dispositivi hanno costi ridotti, ma richiedono una maggiore manutenzione e supervisione. È un mondo in cui appassionati e professionisti, con grande entusiasmo, lavorano ogni giorno per sviluppare firmware personalizzati, rendendo utilizzabili anche dispositivi meno noti, ma perfettamente adatti allo scopo.

Un esempio?

Dispositivi come LilyGO T-Embed CC1101, che, con firmware specifici come “Bruce“, possono facilmente eseguire attacchi RF, RFID, IR, NFC, NRF, BLE, WIFI e altri ancora
Una LilyGO T-Embed CC1101

Conclusione

Questi strumenti, con la loro accessibilità e versatilità, stanno ridefinendo il concetto di hacking moderno: non più appannaggio esclusivo degli esperti, ma un fenomeno sempre più alla portata di chiunque abbia la giusta curiosità e competenza.

Tuttavia, questa crescente potenza solleva interrogativi importanti: fino a che punto possiamo spingerci?

E soprattutto, siamo davvero pronti a confrontarci con un mondo in cui ogni segnale può essere intercettato, manipolato o sfruttato?

La tecnologia ‘punk’ è qui per restare, e sta a noi decidere come utilizzarla: come uno strumento di scoperta e innovazione o come un’arma capace di sfidare ogni sistema.

Nascondere queste tecnologie non porta a nulla di buono, ma occorre conoscerle creando consapevolezza. Infatti rimane sempre il concetto “etico” dietro ad ogni device. Ovvero comprendere le minacce per apportare i miglioramenti per rendere il nostro mondo sempre più sicuro

L'articolo Flipper e Lily per l’hacking di auto e dispositivi smart! La tecnologia Punk che spaventa il mondo proviene da il blog della sicurezza informatica.