iSeeYou: Disabling the MacBook Webcam Indicator LED- RSVP required

September 30th, 2013

Monday Oct 7 Noon King 239  

Disabling the MacBook Webcam Indicator LED

Disabling the MacBook Webcam Indicator LED Modern computers contain a surprising number of processors distinct from the CPUs, each dedicated to a specific task. These processors along with their perhipherals form embedded systems inside standard desktop and laptop systems which are frequently overlooked when evaluating the security of computer systems. In this talk, I’ll describe a security analysis of one such embeddedsystem: the Apple iSight webcam. The iSight contains, as a privacy feature, an indicator LED which provides a visual cue that the camera is turned on. I’ll describe how the hardware that controls the LED can be bypassed, enabling video to be captured without any indication to the user. I’ll also show how the iSight can be leveraged by malware to break out of a Virtual Machine sandbox.

Stephen Checkoway, is an Assistant Research Professor in the Johns
Hopkins University Department of Computer Science and a member of the
Johns Hopkins University Information Security Institute where he
teaches courses on computer security and software vulnerabilities. His
work includes security analyses of automotive emedded systems and
computer voting systems as well as offensive and defensive computer
security research. Checkoway earned bachelor’s degrees in mathematics
and computer sciences from the University of Washington in 2005 and a
Ph.D. in computer science in 2012 from the University of California,
San Diego.

RSVP in the CSCI office King 223 for Pizza lunch

 

Career Services Richard Berman Talks with CSCI Majors

September 24th, 2013

Monday NOVEMBER 4 Noon-1:00 p.m. King 325

RSVP Required. Sign up in the CSCI office King 223 for Pizza lunch.

  • Strategies for finding WT internships, summer jobs, and permanent jobs
  • What industries employe computer scientists
  • CS-related jobs that aren’t just software engineering
  • reaching out to CS alumni
  • deciding grad school vs. industry
  • How faculty/staff  @Oberlin can assist you