Show Links:

Lockmasters Security Institute – GSA Classes

Lockmasters Security Institute – FBI-LEEDA Training

Securitas and Akal

Digital SLR Camera Fits Into Nikon’s Microscope

Courts split over police searches of handhelds

Congressman twitters secret trip to Iraq

Twitter / petehoekstra

Representative Pete Hoekstra

BHMA / ANSI Revised Standards

More problems for Abloy Protec?

YouTube – abloy protec decode

YouTube – How to open Abloy Protec

Identity Preserving Balaclava

Click the link to read the full text of the show.

Lockmasters Security Institute Approved by GSA

LSI has been certified by the General Services Administration (GSA) to train safe and vault technicians who service GSA approved security equipment. With an estimated 400,000 GSA containers in use today, this is an ideal course for any U.S. military, government & commercial locksmith.

In this intense 10 day course, students learn by opening locked containers using the approved methods of forced entry. They also learn about servicing, installing, diagnosing, troubleshooting, repairing and certifying GSA Locks, and GSA approved security containers.

Students leave the class with a specially created safe lock servicing tool kit and an extensive 700+ page reference manual that includes the latest specifications, regulations, neutralization techniques, security container identification, troubleshooting and much more. The reference manual itself weighs over ten pounds! Students who successfully complete the course also receive factory certifications and diplomas from LSI, Hamilton Products Group, & KABA Mas X09. All the GSA regulations and government forms required as part of servicing and inspection are available for download on the LSI website. See the show notes for the link.

Lockmasters Security Institute offers Methods of Entry for Law Enforcement

LSI, has partnered with the FBI-LEEDA organization, and created a class specifically for the Law Enforcement community. Methods of Entry is designed to familiarize officers with the tools and techniques used by today’s criminals to gain entry through locked doors. Offensive entry techniques for police are also addressed for lawful / court ordered entry.

This class has dual strategies. The offensive strategy is designed to familiarize law enforcement personnel with methods that can be used to carry out lawful or court ordered bypass techniques to open doors, bypass locks or bypass security systems. The class is designed to provide familiarity with tools common to the locksmithing and intelligence communities, but not generally known to the public.

The defensive strategy is designed to expose law enforcement personnel to tools and techniques used by criminals, and to aid in the identification of burglary tools.

This class is available to any sworn law enforcement officer and requires the agency to certify the need for this training.

In addition to the training, LSI offers a catalog of specialized entry support tools to aid Law Enforcement officers in gaining lawful/court ordered entry through locked doors. See the show notes for a link to the website.

Securitas USA Announces Asset Acquisition in Hawaii

Securitas Security Services USA, Inc. recently announced the acquisition of the Hawaiian commercial assets of Akal Security Inc. in a transaction scheduled to close on February 20, 2009. This transaction will include over 30 locations and over 300 security officers. The Akal press release notes that the sale does not include any of Akal’s Federal Government contracts, nor any of Akal’s business outside the state of Hawaii.

Akal is the largest provider of contract Judicial Security services, providing protection for federal courthouses in 40 states. Akal specializes in providing security for critical federal government facilities, state and local government agencies and military installations.

Securitas USA has an existing presence in Hawaii with 2,400 employees managed out of 6 branch offices. Headquartered in NJ, Securitas employs over 100,000 people. Services include uniformed security officers, mobile patrols, security consulting & investigations.

http://www.akalsecurity.com/

Digital SLR Camera Fits Into Nikon’s Microscope

On February 20, Nikon Vision Co Ltd will release the “Fabre Photo EX,” a portable stereoscopic microscope that can be fitted to a Nikon’s digital single-lens reflex camera. The announced price is about 1,200 US. A special bracket will allow event the modestly price series of Nikon Coolpix cameras to be attached.   The product is rugged and intended for field observation, and industrial uses such as parts inspections. However it is clear that such a device has obvious uses to law enforcement for forensic investigations. Further, the price is low enough that it wont break even the most modest budget.

With one AA alkaline battery, the Fabre Photo EX can be operated for about ten hours. It is equipped with a white LED light for observation and photo shoot in a dim environment. The light can be switched between “OFF,” “One Light” and “Two Lights,” making it possible to adjust shading and brightness.

http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english/NEWS_EN/20090204/165115/

Courts split over police searches of handhelds

This next story is outside our area of expertise, but it will be of interest to our friends in law enforcement & security management. The courts are split over police searches of handheld phones during traffic stops and subsequent arrests.

Anyone who owns a smart phone that can text, email & web browse knows all to well that the phone can contain a lot of personal and potentially damaging data. Apparently a warrant is needed to search a smartphone in

your home, but recent court decisions have not done much to clear up how such searches should be conducted in the field.

The Cnet News Politics & Law blog has details on the story and excerpts from some of the court decisions that might help in setting a policy to be used by your agency while this all shakes out. Given some of our recent stories about cell phones being the possible ’smoking gun’ in a crime, it would at least be prudent to sequester the phone in a shielded container to prevent the data from being destroyed remotely as we mentioned in show number 4 and show number 8.

Congressman twitters secret trip to Iraq

This story was all over the news recently, but we will cite the Cnet article written by Rafe Needleman as our source.

For security reasons, a recent congressional delegation Iraq was supposed to be secret. Even media outlets that knew of the trip kept a lid on the news.

According to the Twitter feed, Rep. Peter Hoekstra announced both his planned departure and his arrival into Baghdad.

It is unknown if Rep. Hoekstra broke any laws by revealing the trip, but the political blogs are fond of pointing out that such a security lapse is surprising for the Ranking Member of the House Intelligence Committee.

The representative counter strikes on his website by pointing out that there is no such rule or policy regarding disclosure of the movements of a high profile delegation, and cites some examples of where some Democrats have not followed their own advice.

Of course the real news in all of this is that evidently you can now get BlackBerry data service in Baghdad. Who knew?

Seriously though, what can we learn form this? This kind of slip up could have been disastrous for both the delegation and their military escorts. It is just common sense to keep details of travel into danger zones off the internet.

We have spoken before about the hazards of cell phones in the workplace. Besides hindering productivity, they may be equipped with data gathering technologies that early James Bonds would have only dreamed of. They can record conversations both on and off the phone. They can take both still and motion pictures of your company secrets. They have access to your corporate VPN. And many can act as portable storage devices connected like a thumb drive to a USB port on a network computer. Armed with email and web access, your stolen data can be sent out of the building in record time. Now we add the public disclosure of company information, or in this case, the location of high profile targets, on a global social network, that by its very nature is designed to appeal to the masses, and you have a situation that essentially creates jobs security for those of us in the security industry. Hmmm, maybe its not so bad after all.

One final note, if you use a Blackberry, I suggest you stay in touch with their support website. Because of the popularity of this device it has become a target for hackers who are bored with attacking Windows Computers, there are now several exploits against the Blackberry that could result in your having a very bad day.

In door hardware news. . .

BHMA Issues Revised Standards.

The Builders Hardware Manufacturers Association recently published revised standards for Exit Devices, Door control Closers, and Auxiliary Hardware. BHMA is the only organization accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) to develop and maintain performance standards for locks, closers, exit devices and other builders hardware.

The revised standards can be purchased online from buildershardware.com in either printed or electronic format. I highly recommend the complete set to anyone that specifies, sells or installs builders hardware.

Unlocking the ABLOY Protec

The Abloy Protec key cylinder has been under attack recently, mostly on YouTube. Last December a video was posted demonstrating a new tool and how it is used to mill off the face of the cylinder so the disks can be extracted and decoded to make a key. It is a destructive entry technique however the repair to the customer would be to replace the drilled cylinder with a new one.

A second video was posted a few days ago titled Abloy Protec Decode. It shows a demonstration of a decoding method however the video is lacking audio and a clear explanation of what is being done. Further, much of the manipulation is done just outside the camera filed of view. None the less, the author of the video has vigorously defended his claim on the popular locksport blog Blackbag hosted by Barry Wels.

Time will tell if this technique proves successful. See the show notes for the links to the videos.

http://blackbag.nl/?p=319

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YiZOURhFnUI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uj4myR2XlWc

Unmasking your face

I just couldn’t help but laugh when I discovered this next story. An artist by the name of Andrew Salomone has solved the problem that snow skiers have of looking like a hold up guy because they are wearing a full face balaclava when skiing in cold weather. Using his technique you can wear your warm balaclava, but without masking your true identity. The steps to making his Identity Preserving Balaclava are detailed on the website “ instructables”.

Simply stated, he starts with 6 pictures of a persons head. He takes a picture of the front, back, left, right, top, and shoulder to neck. Using imaging editing software he scales the pictures to full size and prints them onto iron on t shirt transfer material. Now you can probably see where this is going. The next step is to iron the transfer onto some cloth and then trim, arrange, and sew the pieces of cloth into a full face mask.

I wonder how long it will take the bad guys to adopt this full face mask technique to impersonate someone else while committing a crime..

http://www.instructables.com/id/Identity_Preserving_Balaclava_all_the_warmth_with/

LSI is hiring

Our final story for the day is good news, Lockmasters Security Institute is looking for instructors. Thats right, if you are looking for a new position, and have extensive experience in the locksmith and physical security, and you enjoy sharing your knowledge with others, then we want to talk to you today. Please call our toll free number, (866) 574-8724, and ask for Deanna Deborde on extension 213.

And so ends this 10th episode of Pro Security News. We covered a lot of topics in this show. The links to all the original stories and research articles are included in the show notes.

If you have any questions about any of the topics discussed today, or if you have a technical question you need an answer for, send me an email at info at prosecurity news dot com. I will answer both via email, and on the show so others can learn.

If you wish to praise or condemn the show, please drop us a note at info at pro security news dot com. We can’t improve if we don’t know what’s bugging you. If you enjoy the show please consider giving us a rating on iTunes and Zune.

This is the enhanced version of the podcast with embedded images and chapter markers much like a DVD. See PSN010 for the show links and the full text of the podcast.

Show Links

Driveby passport cloning
Shmoocon DC – passport hack revealed
RFID pressure switch patent
ID Stronghold – to protect your passport
Global ATM theft nets 9 million in one day
Airbase installs electronic locks.
NFC enabled locks.
Sony finger vein biometric authentication
Gigapan 1500 mega pixel image of inauguration
Gigapan robotic mount information
Key holder
ID Badge spy cam.

Click the link to read the text of the entire podcast.

Drive by Passport Cloning

We have reported several times that RFID tags can be read from a distance. Reading the RFID tag on an access card or passport is the first step to cloning it. In show number one we talked about methods of RFID skimming and cloning. One such cloning attack was the California highway toll road passes. Refer to show #1 if you want to review that information. In show number two we mentioned Identity Stroghold, a company that makes secure sleeves for protecting RFID devices from long range snooping.

So what follows is a story about a security researcher who recently used components purchased on eBay for less than $250 to do some drive by discovery of RFID enabled devices. In a manner similar to Wardriving where a mobile laptop discovers unsecure wifi network resources, the researcher equipped his vehicle to discover nearby RFID devices and capture the unique identifier code. During a 20 minute drive in downtown San Fancisco he was able to copy the RFID tags of two passports without the knowledge of the passport holder.

The cards make use of the RFID equivalent of optical barcodes known as electronic product code tags, which are widely used to track cattle and merchandise as it’s shipped and then stored in warehouses. Because the technology employs no encryption and can be read from distances of more than a mile, the tags are highly susceptible to cloning and tracking.

The snooping system consists of a Symbol brand RFID reader, an antenna mounted to the side of his car, and a laptop connected to the RFID reader. The laptop runs a Windows application that continuously prompts the RFID reader to look for tags and logs the serial number each time one is detected. While this proof of concept setup has a range of about 30 feet, modifications could increase the range to at least one mile.

Government officials say that they have no plans to change the technology used in passport cards because they have increased the processing throughput at border crossings. Given the fact that the passports are provided with protective sleeves, and that the number captured does not reveal personal information about the user, they feel that the system is still relativley safe.

Researcher Chris Paget plans to release the software’s source code during a demonstration at the Shmoocon hacker convention being held this week in Washington DC.

So what is our take-away from this story? The point has been made over and over that RFID systems can be read at great distances, and the tags can be cloned. Reading at a distance is useful if you are a truck hijacker who is looking for that load of big screen TV’s. Cloning is also useful to the bad guys given that Sam’s Club and others are actively developing RFID enabled cash registers. Even though tag cloning required some equipment, some could argue that it would be easier than counterfeiting a UPC bar code. If your facility is contemplating the use of RFID for any purpose, learn from these stories and take a long hard look at the risks it may pose for your facility.

In the future, according to some recently released patent applications, end users of ID cards, access control cards, or these new RFID passports will need to squeeze a target area activating a switch to allow the card or passport to be read. In the meantime concerned users should make use of the shielding devices that are currently available.

A Global ATM theft nets 9 million in one day

Wired Threat Level has a story about a carefully coordinated global ATM heist last November resulted in a one-day haul of $9 million in cash, after a hacker penetrated a server at payment processor RBS WorldPay.

The story is written by Kevin Poulsen, a well known hacker turned journalist, who once served 4 years for mail, wire & computer fraud.

Wired cites a Fox 5 New York news report that explains that the hacker releived RBS WorldPay of personal information on approximately 1.5 million payroll-card and gift-card customers. Payroll cards are debit cards provided by employers instead of paychecks or direct-deposit. Account numbers and other data needed to clone the debit cards was also taken during the hacking breach.

Originally the company said it had fraudulent activity on only 100 cards, however the hacker managed to modify the withdrawal limits on those 100 cards, and used a global network of accomplices to drain the cards with repeated rapid-fire withdrawals. More than 130 ATMs in 49 cities from Moscow to Atlanta were hit simultaneously just after midnight Eastern Time on November 8.

The story goes on to mention that this is not the first time these payroll card systems have been targeted. In late 2007 a company called iWire lost 5 million dollars in a similar attack that lasted just 2 days, and Citibank lost 2 million from ATM machines in 7-11 stores in New York City.

It is interesting and sometimes amusing to sit back and watch the debate over the good and evil done by hackers. What is currently happening to the computer systems we have all come to rely on is very similar to what has been happening to the physical lock industry for hundreds of years. One man builds a lock or security chest and it sets the standard for a few years until another man defeats it. And then a better one is made, and so on and so on. The same is happening in the computer industry. Knowledgeable security practitioners recognize that hackers and lock sport enthusiasts cannot be outlawed and instead, learn from them, which leads to improvements in security. Think of them as your own free R&D department.

Some reasons to consider electronic locks.

A recent story in the news describes how Eielson Air Force base in Alaska has installed card operated electronic locks on the dormitory doors. The locks, provided by Best Access systems, a division of Stanly, read the residents existing Common Area Access card.

Previously the dormitories used traditional mechanical locks and metal keys. The following comments made in the article offer insight as to why these systems are so popular with large facilities.

1. The system offers better key control because the key card cannot be duplicated at the local hardware store.

2. The system also offers more security with regard to methods of entry,.

3. The system is more cost effective to manage both in time and money.

One major area of cost management is the replacement of lost keys. With the new system, when a card is lost, the airman is issued a replacement card which invalidates the code on the lost card. This process can be handled in a few minutes by the dorm management department. Previously, lost keys required a call to a locksmith to change the lock, a process which took a few hours to complete.

Facilities contemplating such a purchase should add up the cost of ownership and ongoing maintenance of both high security mechanical systems and stand alone card access systems and use the resulting data as part of your decision factors. Locksmiths who are not currently installing such systems should seriously consider adding them to their areas of expertise or risk losing valuable customers who decide to install electronic access control.

NFC Enabled Electronic Locks.

Near Field Communications, NFC for short, is a next generation technology touted as a replacement for contactless cards or potentially even the entire contents of your wallet. NFC will enable a phone to carry all your credit cards, loyalty cards, maybe eventually even your driver license.

NFC can support a wide range of applications such as opening a door, logging into your computer, signing on to the Internet, or download maps or directions from a kiosk or display.

Co-developed in 2004 by NXP Semiconductors and Sony, it is a short-range wireless technology that evolved from existing contactless technologies. NFC is supposed to simplify the way consumer devices interact with one another, helping people speed connections, receive and share information and even make fast and secure payments.

To encourage development of “cool” NFC applications, the NFC Forum organization conducted an annual contest to encourage out-of-the-box developments.

The first place winner in this year’s competition was VingCard, an ASSA Abloy company. VingCard developed an NFC-enabled lock for hotel rooms. The system enables guests to bypass the check-in process and unlock their hotel room doors using their phones.

The VingCard system was designed to streamline the checkin and check out process by eliminating the need for a guest to stand in line at the front desk. In fact, the hotel chain can sell the room to the guest over their web site, and then encode the room data via an encrypted text message exchange when the guest indicates he has arrived, either at the airport, in the taxi, or the lobby of the hotel.

It doesn’t take much imagination to see how such a system could be deployed for a commercial facility using NFC for access control. Global text messages to all authorized devices could be used to update the system and change access privileges on the fly, for an access system that had buildings located anywhere in the world (where there is cell phone reception of course).

Sony Develops Biometric Finger Vein Authentication.

Sony Corporation today announced the development of a finger vein authentication technology. This technology offers quick response and high accuracy and comes in a compact size designed for mounting on personal computers or mobile phones.

Sony claims that compared to the other biometric authentication techniques, vein authentication technology achieves higher accuracy for personal identification and higher forgery resistance because it uses the veins inside the finger. Finger vein patterns differ from person to person and finger to finger, and it is said that they do not change over the years.

The design uses a unique method where a CMOS sensor diagonally captures scattered light inside the finger veins, resulting in a design that occupies a single planar surface resulting in a design small enough for mobile devices.

The vein pattern is extracted from the captured finger vein image, and data is compressed and corrected to compensate for slightly differing finger positions.

Sony claims a less than 0.1% for the False Rejection Rate and less than 0.0001% for the False Acceptance Rate. They expect to commercialize the technology within the 2009 fiscal year.

So what can we take away from this story? Continuing advancements in user friendly, simple to use, and cost effective biometric authentication devices are  certainly welcome in the security industry. It is even more useful when they are deployed, and consequently debugged in such heavily used consumer devices as laptops and cell phones. Further, the application in such popular devices lowers many of the barriers to implementation confronted by security practitioners.

Panning camera has security applications

You may have already seen the spectacular image of President Obama’s inauguration that was taken by NY photographer David Bergman. If not, head over to the website linked in our show notes and take a look. It is incredible in size, scope, and resolution. He made the special panoramic image from the north press platform during the inaugural address. It’s made up of 220 images stitched together into a final image size of 1,500 megapixels.

The image was created using a Canon PowerShot G10, a 15 megapixel compact digicam with a 5x zoom that retails for about $260, and the GigaPan Epic robotic mount.

The GigaPan is a robotic camera mount that works with most point and shoot cameras to create huge panoramas. It works in conjunction with included stiching software that joins all the smaller images into one large image, and the GigaPan.org website for sharing the images with others.

You simply attach your camera and set the upper left and lower right corner of the scene you want to capture. The robot works out how many pictures it needs to take, and robotically positions the camera and snaps the shutter. And it does all that for the incredibly low price of $379.00, available directly from GigaPan Systems.

GigaPan Systems was established in 2008 as a commercial spin-off of a collaboration between NASA and Carnegie Mellon University. The GigaPan Imager uses the same technology that was used by the two Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, to collect amazing panoramic images of Mars.

Of course the security applications for this device are enormous. If you go to the web page in the show notes and look at the image you can see that you can use the web page controls to zoom in on any part of the crowd. Just for fun, count the number security people on the roof tops, or zoom in and read the sheet music in the orchestra pit. Obviously this could be a powerful tool for capturing images of large events for later analysis, and at a price that won’t break even the most modest security budget.

Yet another way to not lose your keys.

In the just for fun department, the folks at Yanko Design give us a new design for a common problem, misplacing your keys. Gone are the days of hanging your keys on a hook, tossing them on the counter, or dropping them in a drawer, attaching them to an electronic finder, or worse doing none of this and forgetting where you put them. The #8 KeyThing circumvents that fact of life by giving you one place to keep all your keys. The lady bug looking contraption is a simple piece of rubber with grip port holes. As long as you remember where you mounted it, losing your keys should be a thing of the past. Check out the link to the web site on our show notes page.

Our Weekly Spy Cam Product

And finally, continuing what seems to be a weekly discovery in small spy camera type devices, we found a new one on the web site Engadget. It is a spy camera disguised as a personal ID badge with a forward looking 1.3 megapixel camera that records a 352×288 image at 15 frames per second. It has 4GM of memory and a USB port and reportedly sells for about $155 US. Put your picture and the phone company logo on the front, break out your hard hat and clipboard, and you could probably roam anywhere you want recording lots of video and audio.

GSA Approved!

And in our final story today we are happy to report that Lockmasters Security Institute is now fully approved by the General Services Administration as a Certified Training Facility for the GSA CERTIFIED Safe & vault Technician Course. With over 400,000 GSA security containers in use today, this is an ideal course for any U.S. military, government and commercial locksmith. You will learn all the skills required to service, maintain and inspect GSA approved security containers. In our GSA Inspector Certification course you will Learn how to confirm if a GSA container or vault door is up to standards, and if it can be labeled as GSA approved. You will be certified to inspect and re-certify any GSA approved container if it meets specifications.

This is the enhanced version of the podcast with embedded images and chapter markers much like a DVD. See PSN009 for the show links and the full text of the podcast.