Cybersecurity: they just don't get it...

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: "John F. McMullen" <observer () westnet com>
Date: July 26, 2004 2:09:11 PM PDT
To: Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>, Declan McCullagh 
<declan () well com>, Peter Neumann <neumann () csl sri com>
Subject: [johnmacsgroup] Cybersecurity: they just don't get it...

FYI
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: wes_morgan () US IBM COM
To: johnmacsgroup () yahoogroups com
Subject: [johnmacsgroup] Cybersecurity: they just don't get it...

I'm watching CNN's Headline News, and they run a story on security
preparations for this week's Democratic Convention in Boston.  They go 
on,
at great length, about the extensive network of cameras--approximately 
75
of them, scattered around various Federal buildings and convention
sites--and make it a point to illustrate how the security force, with 
their
wireless networks and handheld devices, can grab the feed from any of 
these
cameras at the tap of a stylus.

So, they show one such device - with it's 802.11b card clearly 
identifiable
- and show another agent viewing a webcam of the Boston Harbor 
shoreline -
with the URL of the hosting site clearly readable.  When talking about 
the
cameras, they show several different cameras on different buildings, 
some
of which seem fairly unusual in their architecture.

I now know that they're using 802.11b, and I know the name at least one
system handling the webcam feeds, and (with a bit of reconaissance) I 
can
probably determine the position of at least one camera.

So much for cybersecurity; I can't believe that the Feds even let that
stuff on the air, much less that they did so without obfuscating 
critical
information.

*sigh*  What were they thinking?

--------------------------------------------------------------------~->
 "When you come to the fork in the road, take it" - L.P. Berra
   "Always make new mistakes" -- Esther Dyson
   "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from 
magic"
    -- Arthur C. Clarke
    "You Gotta Believe" - Frank "Tug" McGraw (1944 - 2004 RIP)

                          John F. McMullen
   johnmac () acm org johnmac () computer org johnmac () m-net arbornet org
         johnmac () tmail com johnmac () panix com johnmac () echonyc com
           jmcmullen () monroecollege edu johnmac () alumni iona edu
              ICQ: 4368412 Skype, AIM & Yahoo Messenger: johnmac13
                  http://www.westnet.com/~observer

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