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ISE To Hold Hacker Competition for Wireless Routers (CDSA)
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By Bryan Ellenburg
Normally, technology vulnerability testing company Independent Security Evaluators (ISE) is working to prevent cyber attacks, but this time around they want hackers to do their thing.
ISE and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) Aug. 7-10 will hold a hacking competition during the annual DEF CON hacking conference in Las Vegas, with hackers encouraged to do everything they can to expose security vulnerabilities in wireless routers.
ISE and EFF are holding the competition — dubbed “SOHOpelessly Broken” — after a series of studies in 2013 discovered a security epidemic plaguing small office/home office (SOHO) WiFi routers, allowing an attacker to take control of the device and intercept and modify network traffic. ISE is of the mind that router manufacturers have done little to address the issues.
“By demonstrating that the issues persist and that consumers are still exposed, pressure will be applied to the manufacturers to take the necessary action to better protect their customers who are currently not empowered to protect themselves,” said Steve Bono, founder of ISE.
For the event EFF is developing a router that allows to access an open WiFi channel that provides Internet access to guest users, without compromising security, privacy or the online experience. EFF is also behind a related initiative: the Open Wireless Movement.
“The outcome of this event will be two-fold,” said EFF’s Ranga Krishnan. “First, we will prove that routers are still vulnerable. Second, we will galvanize a community of technologists to demand remediation by manufacturers.”
The competition will be held at the Rio Hotel and Casino, and will include contest multiple talk tracks, “Capture the Flag,” zero-day vulnerability discovery, and more. To register or sign on as a judge for the competition, go here.
