Monthly Archives: January 2008
Retail Electronic Sensor Gates
SECURITY REVIEW: Retail Entrance/Exit Alarm Gates Most of us have been to a retail store of some kind and encountered someone setting off the obnoxious alarm of security gates that line the doors while exiting or entering the building. Such … Continue reading
Obtaining HFS Master Keys
Despite the huge cost of “missing” master keys, HFS (Housing and Food Services) continues to use easily produced staff ID cards to prove the identity of their employees. This vulnerability in the key checkout procedure could allow anyone with access to a card printer or even a lamination machine to obtain not just one master key for an individual residence hall but all master keys for every hall. Continue reading
Malware piggybacking on digital devices
I would like to talk about an article I read in Slashdot today ( http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/01/13/1533243 )on Malware (Trojan horse programs and computer viruses) finding their way onto digital devices like iPods and, more interestingly, digital picture frames. The Slashdot article … Continue reading
Social Engineering Your Way Into a Dorm Room
It is shocking to learn that while the University of Washington Housing and Food Services own nine residence halls with a total capacity of nearly 5000 students, the security barring access to individual students’ rooms can be compromised with little … Continue reading
Bike locks
With many people living off campus, biking is a popular method for getting to class in a timely manner. Bikes can be quite expensive, however, and riders are usually forced to put them in a public location (for sake of … Continue reading
Security Review – The USPS Mailbox
Overview The blue USPS mailbox, a ubiquitous object on American streets today, is one of the most recognizable security devices currently in use. Despite its many shapes and sizes, its purpose boils down simply to one of protection of privacy, … Continue reading
RFID embedded in prisoners
The UK has proposed to embed offenders with RFID chips as part of an expansion of the electronic tagging scheme that would allow British officials to to help enforce home curfews. This sort of tagging already exists within pets like … Continue reading
Security Review: “Biometric” Passports
I recently had to get a new passport; one with a computer chip, and a handy brochure touting why it was so great, and how I was protected by “two tier system.” This post is to analyze these “Biometric Passports,” … Continue reading
Security Review – Fire Hydrants
This is a security review of a fascinating device known as a fire hydrant. To state the obvious, a fire hydrant is designed to allow certain city personnel (firefighters) access to high pressure water in the case of an emergency. … Continue reading
“The Club” as a vehicle theft deterrence
Steering wheel locks, in particular The Club,[1] are a standard method for securing automobiles against theft. They work by attaching to the steering wheel in such a way that the wheel cannot be turned sufficiently for driving, and then locking … Continue reading