Sean Michael Kerner

LAS VEGAS —  A couple of years ago Cisco fought Black Hat over a presentation. This year there are at least three presentations that deal with various Cisco vulnerabilities. Does that worry Cisco? Not at all according to Russell Smoak Director Technical Services for Cisco Security Intelligence Engineering.  Smoak told me that all of the […]

From the “security by obscurity doesn’t work” files: LAS VEGAS — Though Apple isn’t officially presenting at Black Hat, Apple is definitely in the crosshairs of security researchers. In a session given by famous security researcher Petko D. Petkov, attendees were told about how a particular Apple QuickTime URI handling flaw was discovered. Petkov  also […]

LAS VEGAS — The U.S. government is actively engaged in the fight to help protect against Internet threats and cybercrime. And speaking before a packed ballroom here at the Black Hat security conference, they made it clear they want hackers to join the effort. “The reason why we come here is we hope to attract […]

LAS VEGAS — The recent Domain Name System caching flaw that had security experts scrambling to protect the Web wasn’t just hype. The Internet as we know it was at risk, according to a security researcher Dan Kaminsky. During a discussion on front of a packed hall at the Black Hat conference today, Kaminsky detailed […]

LAS VEGAS — Everyone wants to hear Dan Kaminsky talk about his DNS vulnerability that shocked the web 30 days ago. I’m sitting in the Palace ballroom and I’ve never seen so many people in one room to listen to one man talk about one vulnerability. There are literally thousands (maybe 4,000) people trying to […]

From the “doom and gloom” files:LAS VEGAS. Professor Ian O.Angell of the London School of Economics is a gloomy fellow. In a packed keynote session at Black Hat, Angell literally raged against the machine. Angell argued that we use technology in order to swap out hopelessness for optimisim, but in his view that optimism is […]

LAS VEGAS — The open source Mozilla Firefox Web browser is potentially at risk from design flaws that could allegedly let attackers take whatever they want from users’ computers. Radware Security researcher Itzik Kotler is alleging that he can exploit Mozilla Firefox, and he’s going to demonstrate how at Black Hat. Kotler’s exploit framework for […]

From the “pie in the sky” files: Mozilla has always prided itself on being open for participation, but a new Mozilla Labs effort is trying to extend the model further. Basically they’re fishing for ideas. Today we’re calling on industry, higher education and people from around the world to get involved and share their ideas […]

From the “I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore Toto” files: LAS VEGAS — Aaaaaah Black Hat, where all that ails computer security is out in plain view, even some stuff that you normally can’t see like Wi-Fi. I go to many conferences over the course of any year but only one, only Black Hat […]

From the “show me the money” files:LAS VEGAS. I had the good fortune of meeting up today with Jeremiah Grossman, Founder and CTO of Whitehat Security. Grossman is talking at Black Hat in a session called “Get Rich or Die Trying” in which he is set to discuss how Black Hat’s make money. Grossman told […]

Google Gadgets are supposed to be easy-to-use components that enable users to put content and small applications wherever they want them. According to Tom Stracener a Cenzic Senior Security Analyst, Google Gadgets can also potentially be used as a platform for user exploitation. In a presentation to be delivered at the Black Hat security conference, […]

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