Posts Tagged ‘MoritzAbrell’
[DefCon32] Unlocking the Gates – Hacking a Secure Industrial Remote Access Solution
Moritz Abrell, a senior IT security consultant at Syss, exposes vulnerabilities in a widely deployed industrial VPN gateway critical to operational technology. By rooting the device, bypassing hardware security modules, and reverse-engineering firmware, Moritz demonstrates how attackers could hijack remote access sessions, threatening critical infrastructure worldwide. His findings underscore the fragility of industrial remote access solutions and the need for robust security practices.
Dissecting Industrial VPN Gateways
Moritz begins by outlining the role of VPN gateways in enabling secure remote access to industrial networks. These devices, often cloud-managed by vendors, connect service technicians to critical systems via VPN servers. However, their architecture presents a lucrative attack surface. Moritz’s analysis reveals how vulnerabilities in device firmware and authentication mechanisms allow attackers to gain root access, compromising entire networks.
Exploiting Firmware and Certificates
Through meticulous reverse engineering, Moritz uncovered methods to decrypt passwords and extract firmware-specific encryption keys. By forging valid VPN certificates, attackers could impersonate legitimate devices, redirecting user connections to malicious infrastructure. This scalability—potentially affecting over 500,000 devices—highlights the catastrophic potential of such exploits in energy plants, oil platforms, and other critical facilities.
Real-World Impact and Mitigation
Moritz’s attacks enabled eavesdropping on sensitive data, such as PLC programs, and disrupting legitimate connections. After responsibly disclosing these vulnerabilities, Syss prompted the vendor to patch the backend and release updated firmware. Moritz advises organizations to scrutinize cloud-based remote access solutions, verify third-party infrastructure, and implement strong authentication to mitigate similar risks.