Security at the Honda Indy

Two days before the race, Honda invited me on a backstage tour of the event. Like last year, it was awesome.

But unlike last year, this year’s tour included a stop at the security HQ come ON.  I asked so many questions, the tour guide walked away.

View of the Indy from the command centre.

This is what keeps the race going,
because no security, no race.

Imagine securing 25,000 people, many of whom are drinking.  And do it all in a way that’s un-obtrusive, so as to not create panic and alarm.

 

For more auto-oriented stuff from the race, here’s the tag – Honda Indy.

I purposefully waited to blog these photos, lest I accidentally reveal something of value.

Race teams – choose better WiFi network names; security through obscurity.

 

Went Armoured Car Shopping

It’s a Conquest ‘Evade’.

Built on a Ford F550 Super Duty chassis, choose the diesel engine for the extra 140 lb-fit of torque.

400 square feet of cabin space finished with luxury finishings; night-vision cameras front and rear; humidors, Xbox, TV, fridge, a black box, a gas attack defence, name it get it.

The base model is $579,000 USD. But I bet after the extras, it’d come closer to $800K.

It’s a moving vault.

And these photos aren’t accurately showing how ENORMOUS it is, like 100″ high, 13,00o-ish lbs enormous.

The 238 L fuel tank seems small to me, spring for the upgrade.

Built by Canadian company Conquest, they’ve exported every one of their vehicles, not one has been sold to a Canadian. Lots ship to China and the Middle East.

The vehicles are handmade in their shop north of Toronto, but it’s bad form to post those photos.

The company had kept a low profile, until recently. A few weeks ago, they set-up a test-drive event downtown Toronto and invited the press. I’m the only journalist to have visited the the shop though, ha. Read Peter Cheny’s article, he took it to Kensington Market nice.

Here’s the specs for the model one lower, the ‘Knight’; couldn’t find details on this one.

Note the GVWR :O

It has electrically-charged glass, sometimes called Smart Glass – by electrically-charging the glass, the opacity can be controlled.

How I’d attack the vehicle:

To see one drive by, I’d assume there must be something very valuable inside, to be so heavily protected; therefore it might make a good target.

What about the iPad that’s running the TV via Bluetooth, how about hopping onto the vehicle’s network that way?  Maybe the vehicle is its own Hotspot?  Is there any WiFi bleeding out?  Those externally mounted cameras are probably providing a live feed to the occupants laptop or phone…

It’s highly unlikely the passenger would be without a cell phone, so it’d be worth it to capture their traffic … sitting two cars behind with a laptop and antennae, grab some email passwords; hold data for ransom; grab sensitive photos then blackmail; dealers choice.

The defence would be a Faraday cage; one that could be turned on/off. Could make a nice addition to this vehicle.

But think about it eh, how different life would be, if you had to move around in something this secure, to stay safe.

Fun to think about, wouldn’t want to live it.

 

You’re Responsible for Hotspot Users

That’s my Blackberry, with a warning all phones should come with.

You’ll never see me allowing anyone to Hotspot off my phone.

Because the signal goes: their phone > your phone > service provider

So if they’re up to anything shady or illegal, then your name is now linked to it, and recorded in your cel phone provider’s database.

I’m sure you could explain your way out, but why even get into it.

 

 

Don’t Name your Phone your Name

At the airport, scanning Bluetooth signals in a passenger waiting area.

The results:

Purple * – See the person’s name clearly displayed? The type of device/computer they’re using?
Green * -And that long number? That’s a MAC address

MAC address – a device’s unique number, a digital signature. Every device has one. Not related to Apple/Mac computers.

These people are unnecessarily broadcasting a lot of personal information.

If someone shouted, “Hi Rahul!”,

a gentleman within a 30-feet radius would react.

Someone with bad intentions could do a lot with that.

Practice ‘Security through Obscurity‘, and name your phone something boring.

The name of my phone is —

And always remember, one of the most dangerous places to go online is using airport WiFi.

Even the best guys in the world don’t.

SOLUTION – tether your laptop to your phone using a USB cable

 

 

Soon We’ll be Driving WiFi Hotspots

3G has arrived in cars.

Audi is one of the first with their 2013 Allroad.

See the SIM card slot? That’s it, tada now you’re connected.

Google Maps looks like this.

Remember my column about War Driving? I wonder how this technology will impact things like that.

PS – love that Audi is bringing back the station wagon.

Curious to see how these car networks will be secured.