Times to move to Linux

[Lisa Kachold]

OMG Paul,

On Wed, Jun 26, 2013 at 9:19 AM, Paul Mooring <paul at opscode.com> wrote:

> Matt,
>
> There couldn't be a saner point to add to this conversation.  I'm
> frequently surprised at how even people who understand computers and
> networking treat security as some sort of dark magic.  If you have a fully
> patched Linux desktop with no externally listening services, no one (not
> even the NSA) can get in without going to extreme lengths.


Wait, let me send you a PDF file; since you are sure to be running a
browser from her, or better yet, point you to a nice javascript plugin,
like BEef? <http://beefproject.com/>


> People are so frightened by the PRISM controversy that they aren't
> acknowledging that it's great insight into how the government really does
> gather data, they ask for it while holding a really big gun.  There was no
> crazy backdoors or complex exploits involved, they just told companies that
> had data to give it to them and the companies complied.  The lesson we
> should be learning from this is that data you put on the Internet is not
> private, ever.
>

Well said Paul.  It reminds me of the quote "A completely secure server is
one buried in concrete 30 feet down."

Hopefully, that is including all TCP/IP services because the linux kernel
can be trivially
fuzzed.<http://resources.infosecinstitute.com/intro-to-fuzzing/>


Even with encryption and pgp keys (all forms of
encryption<http://it-clowns.com/c/files/drawer/crypt.ppt>have been
broken) all our information is available.

Even on our internal networks, our SSH and HTTPS sessions are easy hijack
and intercept without VPN/VLAN (and someone even with).

>
> Paul Mooring
> Operations Engineer
> www.opscode.com
>
> Also see my comments below:

>
>
> From: Lisa Kachold
> > It's trivial to send you a PDF or Javascript Browser Exploitation BEef
> > hook and walk through your systems
>
> How do NoScript and using evince/kpdf instead of Acrobrat Reader affect
> those
> trivial exploits?
>

Noscript stops the BEef from hooking.
You open a PDF with exploits or shellcode and your still owned.

>
> > agents that can be delivered via email (Kaseya or LivePerson) and J2EE
> > exploits that can be launched easily = opening you wide.
>
> Of course, if you're using a mail client that executes things found in
> attachments, you'll get pwn3d quickly.  Are there any mail clients that do
> those things in this day and age?
>

Microsoft Outlook is the only one I can think of, other than the versions
in Blackberry phones made to use the same type of email "view panes".


> I thought they'd even partially fixed
>
Not completely!


> Outhouse in that respect.  J2EE?  Who has all the components of J2EE
> installed
> (besides Java developers)?  In the last 5 years, I've seen exactly 2 Java
> applets in the wild.  Client-side Java is *uncommon* in the modern WWW
> AFAICT;
> the things people used to use Java for have been taken over by Flash/JS.
>

That's due to browser security = but you can still easily GET a J2EE
virus/infection (in all manner of ways from Win7 to SAP to linux/Mac).

>
> > Surveillance technology continues from all your expenditures, all your
> > travel (license plate readers), and your phone behaviors, and can include
> > remote viewing (without camera technology you would recognize).
>
> I can see how it'd be easy to track credit card transactions (bank records)
> and car movements (via traffic cameras).  Could you explain "remote viewing
> without camera technology" more clearly?
>

It's a common tool that allows military to see inside of buildings.  ARGUS
uses it:

http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/pretty-soon-drones-will-be-able-to-see-inside-your-bedroom


>
> --
> Matt G / Dances With Crows
> The Crow202 Blog:  http://crow202.org/wordpress/
> There is no Darkness in Eternity/But only Light too dim for us to see
>
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