lists.openwall.net   lists  /  announce  owl-users  owl-dev  john-users  john-dev  passwdqc-users  yescrypt  popa3d-users  /  oss-security  kernel-hardening  musl  sabotage  tlsify  passwords  /  crypt-dev  xvendor  /  Bugtraq  Full-Disclosure  linux-kernel  linux-netdev  linux-ext4  linux-hardening  linux-cve-announce  PHC 
Open Source and information security mailing list archives
 
Hash Suite: Windows password security audit tool. GUI, reports in PDF.
[<prev] [next>] [<thread-prev] [thread-next>] [day] [month] [year] [list]
Date: Thu, 28 Apr 2011 12:40:37 -0500
From: Marsh Ray <marsh@...endedsubset.com>
To: Tõnu Samuel <tonu@....ee>
Cc: full-disclosure@...ts.grok.org.uk
Subject: Re: Barracuda backdoor

On 04/28/2011 05:51 AM, Tõnu Samuel wrote:
> On Thu, 2011-04-28 at 11:45 +0100, Benji wrote:
>> Do you actually have any evidence of a backdoor? Or could this just be
>> a remote 'turn-off' switch as such? I'm not saying that one is better
>> than the other, but they are very different features.
>
> I have no idea how this technically is implemented or what they can do
> else. This is clear example of closed source product dangers. Today we
> found some "switch off", tomorrow what?

Tomorrow Barracuda gets pwned and this turns into a cascade failure.

Oh wait, that happened two weeks ago:
   http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/04/11/barracuda_networks_attack/

> How we can be sure about
> anything? Only thing I am sure now: they kept copy of keys to house you
> bought from them years ago and their used those keys for illegal thing.

Let's be careful though: just because your system stopped working 
doesn't mean it has a backdoor. It could have been implemented as simply 
a periodic "phone home for updates" which received some type of 
"license expired" message. A remote kill switch, for sure, but not 
necessarily the same as a back door.

It raises the question though of how many companies have that particular 
combination of ethics and self-discipline to implement one and not the 
other. It sometimes takes extra work to build a product that performs 
security functions in a customer's network without granting yourself 
unnecessary privilege on that network.

As we saw with RSA SecurID, many admins didn't realize that the vendor 
might be keeping a copy of the keys. Sites with products on their 
networks may want to consider if Barracuda as an external vendor falls 
under the scope of their PCI requirements.

- Marsh

_______________________________________________
Full-Disclosure - We believe in it.
Charter: http://lists.grok.org.uk/full-disclosure-charter.html
Hosted and sponsored by Secunia - http://secunia.com/

Powered by blists - more mailing lists