On The Metal

Rick Altherr

Jan 13, 2020

Rick Altherr, a cybersecurity enthusiast, discusses USBAnywhere vulnerability, BMC security risks, and nostalgia for Cray supercomputers. He explores challenges in BMCs, Redfish development, firmware complexities, and power-off bug solutions. The critical role of firmware in preventing hardware failures and the evolution of the Open Compute Project are also highlighted.

57:53

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Episode guests

Rick Altherr

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Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Firmware vulnerabilities, like USB exploits in Supermicro BMCs, highlight the importance of addressing system security.

Trustworthiness verification of firmware poses challenges due to outdated security protocols and lack of robust measures.

Open source projects such as OpenBMC promote transparent firmware solutions, enhancing security through collaboration and code transparency.

Growing awareness of security risks in firmware development emphasizes the need for proactive security strategies and advancements in open source solutions.

Deep dives

Impacts of Firmware Vulnerabilities in System Security

Firmware vulnerabilities, like the USB exploit found in Supermicro BMCs, can have significant effects on system security. The vulnerability found in USB Anywhere, which allowed mounting an ISO image as a CD-ROM drive over the internet, exposed 47,000 servers to potential exploitation. This exemplifies the importance of addressing firmware security to prevent unauthorized access and breaches.

Intro

2min

Exposing 47,000 Insecure Servers

5min

Nostalgia for Cray Supercomputers and Alpha Processors

6min

Challenges and Vulnerabilities in BMCs and the Development of Redfish

9min

Exploring Firmware Complexity, Sponsor Ad, and Bug Stories

2min

Challenges with Machine Powering Off Bug

6min

The Critical Role of Firmware in Preventing Hardware Failures

13min

Evolution of the Open Compute Project and Hyperscaler Influence

14min

You can find Rick on Twitter at https://twitter.com/kc8apf and read his blog at https://www.kc8apf.net/.

Some of the highlights of the show include:

USBAnywhere: https://eclypsium.com/2019/09/03/usbanywhere-bmc-vulnerability-opens-servers-to-remote-attack/
Rick's talk at OSFC: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrcdHHsfaKQ
OpenBMC: https://github.com/openbmc/openbmc https://lwn.net/Articles/683320/
Wireshark: https://www.wireshark.org/ https://github.com/wireshark/wireshark
Ghidra: https://www.nsa.gov/resources/everyone/ghidra/ https://ghidra-sre.org/ https://github.com/NationalSecurityAgency/ghidra
ASPEED: https://www.aspeedtech.com/products.php?fPath=20&rId=440
Nuvoton: https://www.nuvoton.com/products/cloud-computing/ibmc/?__locale=en
CRAY 1: http://bitsavers.trailing-edge.com/pdf/cray/CRAY-1/2240004C_CRAY-1_Hardware_Reference_Nov77.pdf https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cray-1
Deutsches Museum: https://www.deutsches-museum.de/en/exhibitions/communication/computers/
Seymour Cray: https://www.cray.com/company/history/seymour-cray https://www.britannica.com/biography/Seymour-R-Cray
CDC 6600: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CDC_6600 https://conservancy.umn.edu/handle/11299/104327
Alpha Station: https://web.archive.org/web/20060701073452/http://h18002.www1.hp.com/alphaserver/workstations.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AlphaStation
Tru64: https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en#!original/bit.listserv.esl-l/BovGe3q9yWE/cqlcCYfxmbAJ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tru64_UNIX
Windows NT: https://web.archive.org/web/20040610122846/http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/features/1998/winntfs.asp https://web.archive.org/web/20020503172231/http://www.win2000mag.com/Articles/Print.cfm?ArticleID=4494 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_NT
Windows NT on Mips: https://gunkies.org/wiki/Installing_Windows_NT_4.0_on_Qemu(MIPS)
Palo Alto Goodwill: https://goodwillsv.org/store/palo-alto-store/
SGI: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silicon_Graphics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SGI_Visual_Workstation
Cray 1 on ebay: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/05/24/cray_1_gate_module_ebay/
root calvin: https://www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/04/sln306783/dell-poweredge-what-is-the-default-username-and-password-for-idrac?lang=en https://www.reddit.com/r/sysadmin/comments/2wem6s/is_there_any_story_or_history_behind_rootcalvin/
Redfish: https://www.dmtf.org/standards/redfish https://redfish.dmtf.org/
iKVM: https://www.ikvm.net/ http://www.ikvm.net/userguide/intro.html
IPMI: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/docs/servers/ipmi/ipmi-home.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intelligent_Platform_Management_Interface
I2C: https://i2c.info/
Non maskable interrupt: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-maskable_interrupt
Read and write heads: https://www.computerhistory.org/storageengine/thin-film-heads-introduced-for-large-disks/ https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/hard-drive-magnetic-storage-hdd,3005-2.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disk_read-and-write_head
Fly height: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_height http://maeresearch.ucsd.edu/callafon/publications/2011/UweIEEETonM.pdf
The legend of the walking drives: http://catb.org/jargon/html/W/walking-drives.html http://msgboard.snopes.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=103;t=000500;p=1
Open Source Firmware Conference: https://osfc.io/
Coreboot: https://www.coreboot.org/
ChromeOS Firmware: https://www.chromium.org/chromium-os/developer-information-for-chrome-os-devices/custom-firmware
EDK II: https://github.com/tianocore/edk2
Open Compute Project: https://www.opencompute.org/
Width of a Horse's butt: http://www.naute.com/stories/rail.phtml

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On The Metal

Rick Altherr

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Deep dives

Impacts of Firmware Vulnerabilities in System Security

Challenges in Secure Hardware Implementation

Evolution of Open Source Firmware Initiatives

Exploring Security Trends in Firmware Development

Challenges and Innovations in Hardware Security

Future Prospects of Security Initiatives in Firmware

Closing Remarks on Hardware Security Trends

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On The Metal

Rick Altherr

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Deep dives

Impacts of Firmware Vulnerabilities in System Security

Challenges in Secure Hardware Implementation

Evolution of Open Source Firmware Initiatives

Exploring Security Trends in Firmware Development

Challenges and Innovations in Hardware Security

Future Prospects of Security Initiatives in Firmware

Closing Remarks on Hardware Security Trends

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Save anymoment

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