Hacking Closed Networks
'Online and vulnerable': Experts find nearly three dozen U.S. voting systems connected to internet
One major problem with "closed networks" or "air gapped" networks they rarely stay closed. Often times somewhere along the line someone brings in something online. Once one computer is connected that the others are connected to it's no longer a closed network. Because these networks are hard to patch, they tend to be more vulnerable.
This is an article written in January 2020. The warning signs were there. Jarrett has not demonstrated how they took these warnings seriously. In the email above he puts the effort upstream to those who have certified equipment rather then address what has been done that is somehow unique in Maricopa County. This is not an example of due diligence and an example of how county officials are not held accountable.
"It was an assurance designed to bolster public confidence in the way America votes: Voting machines “are not connected to the internet.”
Then Acting Undersecretary for Cybersecurity and Communications at the Department of Homeland Security Jeanette Manfra said those words in 2017, testifying before Congress while she was responsible for the security of the nation’s voting system.
So many government officials like Manfra have said the same thing over the last few years that it is commonly accepted as gospel by most Americans. Behind it is the notion that if voting systems are not online, hackers will have a harder time compromising them.
But that is an overstatement, according to a team of 10 independent cybersecurity experts who specialize in voting systems and elections. While the voting machines themselves are not designed to be online, the larger voting systems in many states end up there, putting the voting process at risk."
What information leading up to the election might define who might attack election systems in Arizona and how?
"Several reports pointed to China targeting air gapped systems, using NSA tools to wipe log files and evidence of their activities, and system vulnerabilities. These reports even included reports directly on election systems. Some evidence pointed to Russia as well. Twice prior to the election both Georgia and Arizona had system breaches that lead to leaked voter information. Georgia’s breach was a ransomware attack that included the signature database. Could the signature database be trusted? In Maricopa County, the largest county in Arizona, there were claims the website for elections had been breached. Remarkably, the individual responsible for this breach is a local individual in Fountain Hills and flash drives were confiscated. These are the same items used in the tabulators and at the election center."
What can someone do with radio?
Wireless hacking and wireless devices that exfiltrate data are invisible and often go completely undetected.
Just a moment alone is all I need
When policy is lax and people are left alone near equipment just about anything is possible. Keep in mind, nation-state attackers would have the money and means to conduct this attack in much more sophisticated ways. The initial attack could even be injected into the supply chain and could be shipped compromised.
How safe is your air-gapped PC? Attackers can now suck data out via power lines
Palm to the face! The deeper you dig, the more ridiculous the idea of these networks are secure because they are. Because I said so.
You'll now need to monitor the power cables connecting to isolated computers holding sensitive information.
Researchers from Israel's Ben Gurion University of the Negev have shown once again that air-gapped PCs are not safe from a determined and patient attacker.
The researchers have already devised several devious techniques to extract data from isolated or air-gapped computers that store highly sensitive data.
Techniques they've proven work include a drone-assisted attack on a computer's flashing LEDs, using a CPU's low-frequency magnetic radiation to leak data through a Faraday cage, and attacking the very CCTV cameras used to monitor air-gapped computers.
The latest technique, dubbed PowerHammer, exploits current fluctuations flowing through the power lines supplying electricity to air-gapped computers.
The researchers have been able to exfiltrate data at a rate of 1,000 bits per second for lines connected to the target computer and 10 bits per second from the grid.
As with the Magneto and Odini Faraday-cage attacks that the researchers revealed in February, the PowerHammer technique would use malware to regulate a CPU's utilization to control the system's power consumption.
Source: Click here for the source