News broke that 14 vulnerabilities have been discovered by Kaspersky Labs in the Hardware Against Software Piracy (HASP) license management system. The affected USB tokens can be used to open a hidden remote-access channel for cybercriminals. The USB tokens are used to activate software licenses on PCs and servers in corporations and Industrial Control Systems. Moreno Carullo, Co-Founder and CTO at Nozomi Networks commented below.
Moreno Carullo, Co-Founder and CTO at Nozomi Networks:
“USB drivers have been a significant attack vector for several years with Stuxnet as the most notable example. Operators should consistently employ all necessary precautions when allowing an external driver into an Industrial Control System (ICS), even if the source is well known. Malicious USBs could be used for disrupting the normal process operation (DOS) or for stealing credentials (NTLM relay attack). While blocking port 1947 is an option to mitigate the problem, it is also not a solution that is suited for all business processes. Blocking this port could result in the cessation of integral services as well. ICS operators could have strong visibility into the network by applying technologies that are able to monitor the traffic passively to detect anomalies or suspicious activities. These technologies should also be integrated with the firewall to increase the needed visibility in such scenarios.”
