Hybrid Attacks - Becoming the Stainless Steel Rat

Eric Michaud Friday, July 31, 2020: 1700. In our dystopian present, the digital world is enmeshed with the physical. Security controls once made of steel are turning into silicon and copper wire. Door locks are being replaced by key card access, ca...

Eric Michaud

Friday, July 31, 2020: 1700. In our dystopian present, the digital world is enmeshed with the physical. Security controls once made of steel are turning into silicon and copper wire. Door locks are being replaced by key card access, car keys replaced by electronic fobs, and "wallets" are digital files which store your cryptocurrency. Subsequently, real world operations now often contain both physical and electronic components. This talk will cover why the current landscape exists, and the implications for offense and defense.

From heisting cars to stealing Bitcoin, this talk will dive into real hybrid attacks which blend lockpicking and hacking, physical bypass and digital access. You'll understand why the hacker needs to know how to pick locks, and why the Wi-Fi Pineapple and USB Rubber Ducky are becoming part of the physical access specialist's toolkit.

"It was easier in the old days... just as old wooden buildings have more rats than concrete buildings… Now that society is all ferrocrete and stainless steel there are fewer gaps in the joints. It takes a very smart rat indeed to find these openings. Only a stainless steel rat can be at home in this environment..." - Harry Harrison, The Stainless Steel Rat