Friday, March 28, 2014

Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind - Drones Overhead Steal What's On Your Phone

Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind - Drones Overhead Steal What's On Your Phone

March 28, 2014 | Lyn Leahz
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The proliferation of drone technology is providing new challenges to anyone who wants to keep their personal information private and secure.

A recent experiment by CNN revealed that a modified drone could access the personal information from up to 150 users per hour using Wi-Fi.  That information included personal banking information, including passwords.

The drone is appropriately named “Snoopy” and it takes advantage of smartphones that actively search for networks.  The drone can send back a signal pretending to be networks you've connected to in the past.

Devices even two feet apart could both make connections, each thinking it is a different, trusted Wi-Fi network. When the phones connect to the drone, Snoopy will intercept everything they send and receive.

That includes the sites you visit, credit card information entered or saved on different sites, location data, usernames and passwords. Each phone has a unique identification number, or MAC address, which allows the drone to tie the traffic directly to the device.

In the experiment with CNN Snoopy was taken for a test run in London with Sensepost security researcher Glenn Wilkinson.  During the hour test he was able to obtain network names and GPS coordinates for about 150 mobile devices which included usernames and passwords for Amazon, Yahoo and Paypal.

What makes the drone hacking so dangerous is not only is it effective but it is mobile and out of sight for the average pedestrian, enabling people to be followed without any sign of detection.

Users can protect themselves by shutting off Wi-Fi connections and forcing their devices to ask before they join networks.

Read more at http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/2014/March28/281.html#cGTMPDptzmUj3c2j.99
Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind - Drones Overhead Steal What's On Your Phone
March 28, 2014 | Lyn Leahz
Share this article



The proliferation of drone technology is providing new challenges to anyone who wants to keep their personal information private and secure.
A recent experiment by CNN revealed that a modified drone could access the personal information from up to 150 users per hour using Wi-Fi.  That information included personal banking information, including passwords.
The drone is appropriately named “Snoopy” and it takes advantage of smartphones that actively search for networks.  The drone can send back a signal pretending to be networks you've connected to in the past. 
Devices even two feet apart could both make connections, each thinking it is a different, trusted Wi-Fi network. When the phones connect to the drone, Snoopy will intercept everything they send and receive.
That includes the sites you visit, credit card information entered or saved on different sites, location data, usernames and passwords. Each phone has a unique identification number, or MAC address, which allows the drone to tie the traffic directly to the device.
In the experiment with CNN Snoopy was taken for a test run in London with Sensepost security researcher Glenn Wilkinson.  During the hour test he was able to obtain network names and GPS coordinates for about 150 mobile devices which included usernames and passwords for Amazon, Yahoo and Paypal.
What makes the drone hacking so dangerous is not only is it effective but it is mobile and out of sight for the average pedestrian, enabling people to be followed without any sign of detection. 
Users can protect themselves by shutting off Wi-Fi connections and forcing their devices to ask before they join networks.

Read more at http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/2014/March28/281.html#cGTMPDptzmUj3c2j.99

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