Businesses Warned Of The Risk Of NetBIOS

An interface that has existed for over 30 years and is present in all versions of Windows, is still a serious security risk for businesses and users. Before warns security expert Perry Mertens . It involves the NetBIOS interface from 1983. NetBIOS stands for Network Basic Input Output System and is an interface that allows systems to communicate within a local network.

Over the years, several vulnerabilities in the protocol discovers and also abused, including spoofing attacks. The protocol does not use authentication and is therefore particularly vulnerable to spoofing. According to Mertens it is quite easy to perform NetBIOS spoofing attacks. An attacker only needs to connect to the local network or an open Wi-Fi network. Then catch his user ID and password hashes through all sorts of readily available tools on. These hashes are often crack again through other tools.

"This is the easiest way for an attacker to steal user data, just wait," Mertens says. Using the stolen data can allow an attacker access to personal data, applications and systems. Because of the risk of NetBIOS Mertens puts it even as a "30 year old forgotten backdoor in Windows". He advises organizations and suppliers alike to NetBIOS disable . Warning for NetBIOS is not new. Three years ago, the Internet Storm Center hole a similar warning off.

43-Year-Old Telnet Still Popular On The Internet

It is 43 years ago this week that Jon Postel RFC 318 published a document in which he described a standard method to control terminal devices at one location from another location, now better known as Telnet (Teletype NETwork). Despite its age and the security problems that are associated with Telnet network protocol is still very popular on the Internet.

John Matherly, the developer of the search engine Shodan, collected in March sorts of information services on the Internet and discovered that Telnet on the sixth place of most state services found behind HTTP, CWMP, SIP, SSH and HTTPS. According Matherly, Telnet is still used by companies and manufacturers. Among other kinds of " smart "products. "The fact that Telnet is easy to use, easy to integrate and requested by users allows Telnet remains popular on the Internet," said Matherly.

Telnet was designed at a time when security hardly played a role and therefore does not have encryption. Besides all kinds of old legacy devices that still use telnet and replaced by SSH is unclear how often the protocol for new products at selected points Matherly. "But the fact remains that even for new programs and devices, and engineers Telnet preferable alternatives."Something Shodan developer both from a security and usability point of view is unwise. Recently reported that the Internet giant Akamai even in the fourth quarter of 2014 as much as 32% of all the observed attack traffic against Telnet was addressed.

Oracle Java SSL 3.0 Switches Off

To protect users from attack Java, Oracle SSL 3.0 disabled in the software. The measure is part of the security update that appeared Tuesday. "This Critical Patch Update disables the standard use of SSL 3.0. SSL 3.0 will be considered an obsolete protocol and this situation is exacerbated by the POODLE-leak. As a result, this protocol widely attacked by malicious hackers," says Eric Maurice Oracle.

The POODLE-vulnerability in SSL 3.0 ensures that an attacker who between a user and the Internet to know places, for example in an open Wi-Fi network, can steal information from encrypted connections, such as session cookies. Maurice gives organizations advised to discontinue use of all SSL versions, as it is no longer the safe communication between systems can be trusted.

Also Oracle customers have to change their code and switch to a more secure protocol such as TLS 1.2. Oracle employee further notes that Oracle in the future SSL in all Oracle software will turn off. Besides disabling SSL 3.0 update also fixes 19 vulnerabilities in Java, which in the worst case, an attacker can give full control over the system.