Specifically, attackers can leverage a compromised email/password combination connected to a Google account (such as to nefariously install a readily-available message mirroring app on a victim’s smartphone via Google Play. Our experiments revealed a malicious actor can remotely access a user’s SMS-based 2FA with little effort, through the use of a popular app (name and type withheld for security reasons) designed to synchronize user’s notifications across different devices. If an attacker has access to your credentials and manages to log into your Google Play account on a laptop (although you will receive a prompt), they can then install any app they’d like automatically onto your smartphone. One particular attack exploits a feature provided on the Google Play Store to automatically install apps from the web to your android device. In addition to these existing vulnerabilities, our team has found additional vulnerabilities in SMS-based 2FA. So in the case of Modlishka, it will intercept communication between a genuine service and a victim and will track and record the victim’s interactions with the service, including any login credentials they may use). This facilitates communication between the victim and a service being impersonated. SMS-based one-time codes are also shown to be compromised through readily available tools such as Modlishka by leveraging a technique called reverse proxy. SIM swapping involves an attacker convincing a victims’ mobile service provider they themselves are the victim, and then requesting the victim’s phone number be switched to a device of their choice. This is because SMS is renowned for having infamously poor security, leaving it open to a host of different attacks.įor example, SIM swapping has been demonstrated as a way to circumvent 2FA. Major vendors such as Microsoft have urged users to abandon 2FA solutions that leverage SMS and voice calls. Yet many critical online services in Australia still use SMS-based one-time codes, including myGov and the Big 4 banks: ANZ, Commonwealth Bank, NAB and Westpac. They can bypass 2FA through the one-time codes sent as an SMS to a user’s smartphone. Figures suggest users who enabled 2FA ended up blocking about 99.9% of automated attacks.īut as with any good cybersecurity solution, attackers can quickly come up with ways to circumvent it. Generally, 2FA aims to provide an additional layer of security to the relatively vulnerable username/password system. A recent study highlighted more than 80% of all hacking-related breaches happen due to compromised and weak credentials, with three billion username/password combinations stolen in 2016 alone.Īs such, the implementation of two-factor authentication (2FA) has become a necessity. It’s now well known that usernames and passwords aren’t enough to securely access online services.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |