An important weakness has been discovered in the technology of quantum key distribution (QKD), which is increasingly being used by military and government to secure sensitive communications.. Researchers at the University of Toronto have successfully attacked a QKD system from Swiss company, id Quantique, the first time an attack on a commercial system using the technology has been demonstrated. The highly-theoretical attack was based on disproving assumptions about the levels of errors which can be taken by either the sender (Alice) or receiver (Bob) to be indicative that the key data has been compromised by a third party (Eve). The security principle of QKD is the impossibility of a simple intercept-and-resend attack being hidden from sender or receiving parties, normally taken to a quantum bit error rate (QBER) of 20 percent or greater becoming apparent in the signal, a figure that takes account of a degree of 'noise'. The link for this article located at Network World is no longer available. . Scientists from Stanford University have effectively compromised a German QKD setup, uncovering significant vulnerabilities.. Quantum Key Distribution, QKD Security Flaw, Cryptographic Weakness. . LinuxSecurity.com Team
You've probably heard of full disclosure, the security philosophy that calls for making public all details of vulnerabilities. It has been the subject of debates among researchers, vendors, and security firms. But the story that grabbed most of the headlines at the Black Hat Briefings in Las Vegas last week was based on a different type of disclosure. For lack of a better name, I'll call it faux disclosure. Here's why. . Security researchers Dave Maynor of ISS and Johnny Cache -- a.k.a. Jon Ellch -- demonstrated an exploit that allowed them to install a rootkit on an Apple laptop in less than a minute. Well, sort of; they showed a video of it, and also noted that they'd used a third-party Wi-Fi card in the demo of the exploit, rather than the MacBook's internal Wi-Fi card. But they said that the exploit would work whether the third-party card -- which they declined to identify -- was inserted in a Mac, Windows, or Linux laptop. The link for this article located at NewsForge is no longer available. . At the recent Black Hat conference, cybersecurity experts revealed a Wi-Fi flaw impacting many devices, emphasizing the need for manufacturers to strengthen security measures swiftly. Wi-Fi Exploit, Rootkit Attack, Black Hat Conference, Cybersecurity Research, Rootkit Threat. . LinuxSecurity.com Team
Get the latest Linux and open source security news straight to your inbox.