Pay-Per-View Bomb Threats

Public webcams aren't something that most public institutions would consider a significant threat - they're typically in open spaces without sensitive data or activities in front of them. The Register's coverage of Ashton Lundeby and his fellow conspirators might make those organizations reconsider. The Register quotes the indictment, noting that "The conspirators created a 'channel' over which members of the conspiracy could broadcast their misdeeds to as many as three hundred (300) individuals simultaneously".

This moves swatting into the field of mass entertainment - the website advertising the videos was apparently set up to charge fees to view them. With caller ID spoofing and the sensitivity of public institutions to bomb threats, this may become a threat that we are all too familiar with.

For many sites, a simple search of common camera URLs will find Axis and other network cameras:

intitle:”AXIS” | inurl:view/view.shtml

A larger list of search URLs can be found here.

How would your organization handle a false bomb threat? Do you have publicly accessible web cameras? Do you know where they are? This may be yet another worthwhile Google alert search string to build.

Listing: the Craigslist attack vector

Most of us don't worry about people looting our homes while we're at work - but a new form of attack can create more than a nuisance. A recent Craigslist hoax resulted in large numbers of people taking possessions from Robert Salisbury's Jacksonville, Oregon home. KGW.com's article on the event is worth a read.

This is somewhat similar to the "SWATters" who fake 911 calls using callerID spoofing, social engineering, and other tactics. In each case, the attack is reasonably easy to conduct anonymously, can cause great damage, and uses third parties to conduct the actual attack. In many ways, this is a physical manifestation of what security professionals are used to seeing from botnets and zombies conducting an attack.

Will we see a new term for Craiglist lootings and other attacks - Listing, perhaps?

Other events, such as the massive out of control party in England after it was announced online and by a radio DJ point to the power of broadcast media. Normal social controls are often ignored when people feel that they were invited to take advantage of a situation - and damages can be hard to calculate.

Have you updated your home inventory recently?

Creative Commons licensed Flickr image credit to user blmurch