Germans devise attacks on Windows BitLocker

[reghakr]

German researchers have devised five methods that determined attackers can use to bypass hard-drive encryption in recent versions of Microsoft operating systems. The methods, laid out by a research team from the Frauenhofer Institute
for Security Information

Technology, can be used to access files protected by BitLocker drive encryption... … The researchers stress that the strategies are useful only for targeted attacks, such as those used in industrial espionage, where an attacker is willing to devote considerable effort to breaching a single individual's security. … Among the methods discussed is what they call a "hardware-level phishing attack," in which a target machine is replaced with a counterfeit one that provides precisely the same messages and prompts that the original machine would have produced. The imposter machine captures user input and relays it to the attacker, who then uses it on the real machine.

Date: 5 December 2009

More............http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/12/05/windows_bitlocker_attacks/

 

[fseal]

Wow... the old "fake ui to grab password" trick, impressive. They come up with that all by themselves?

That is a standard attack on any and all systems local and ESPECIALLY web based now and probably for all time.

Sounds like someone is looking to generate publicity for themselves...

 

[Barman58]

This actually paints Bittlocker in quite a good light - given the physical access to the machine that this type of attack demands, (replacing the machine with a clone), and still having to rely on a "phishing" type of attack, rather than simply removing the HDD and cracking the encryption - shows that the actual encryption algorithm used is good.

 

[Qdos]

I think it's more of a weak publicity stunt than anything else...

More likely than not might be an NSA engineered back door into Bitlocker, in spite of Microsofts claims to the contrary!

It wasn't all that many years ago the US Gov't prohibited the export of software such as PGP or other encryption packages, can't really see that they'd allow Microsoft to receive exceptional treatment on a global product which could well be used by some unsavoury characters known to the FBI etc...

 

[jimbo45]

Das is NICHT in Ordnung

Cheers
jimbo

 

[jav]

hmm.. seems bitlocker getting popular this week:
http://www.sevenforums.com/system-security/44747-attack-windows-bitlocker.html

and softpedia sells crack for just $ 795
http://news.softpedia.com/news/Crac...-BitLocker-Hard-Drive-Encryption-128894.shtml


All Credits for finding this information goes to JMH

 

[reghakr]

Here I though Softpedia was a decent site.

I can almost guarantee you that the forensic tool is only available to forensic investigator's and law enforcement.

When you ckick on the forensic link it is limited to

Office Password Cracker - for Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint,
Word, Outlook, Access. More..
- for Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint,
Word, Outlook, Access. More..