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A new Bluetooth vulnerability named "KNOB" has been disclosed that allow attackers to more easily brute force the encryption key used during pairing to monitor or manipulate the data transferred between two paired devices. In a coordinated disclosure between Center for IT-Security, Privacy and Accountability (CISPA), ICASI, and ICASI members such as Microsoft, Apple, Intel, Cisco, and Amazon, a new vulnerability called "KNOB" has been disclosed that affects Bluetooth BR/EDR devices, otherwise known as Bluetooth Classic, using specification versions 1.0 - 5.1. This flaw has been assigned CVE ID CVE-2019-9506 and allows an attacker to reduce the length of the encryption key used for establishing a connection. In some cases, an attacker could reduce the length of an encryption key to a single octet. "The researchers identified that it is possible for an attacking device to interfere with the procedure used to set up encryption on a BR/EDR connection between two devices in such a way as to reduce the length of the encryption key used," stated an advisory on Bluetooth.com. "In addition, since not all Bluetooth specifications mandate a minimum encryption key length, it is possible that some vendors may have developed Bluetooth products where the length of the encryption key used on a BR/EDR connection could be set by an attacking device down to a single octet." This reduction in key length would make it much easier for an attacker to brute force the encryption key used by the paired devices to communicate with each other. Once the key was known to the attackers, they could monitor and manipulate the data being sent between the devices. This includes potentially injecting commands, monitoring keystrokes, and other types of behavior. Full details are posted on OUR FORUM.

The company launches FastTrack for Windows 10 guidance, providing experts who can talk through deployment scenarios with partners. Microsoft Monday unveiled a new benefit for partners that are moving customers from Windows 7 to Windows 10, with the company now offering expert assistance around Windows 10 deployments. The end of support date for Windows 7 is set for Jan. 14, 2020, and Microsoft has made a series of investments to help with the transition, said Bob Davis, corporate vice president for Microsoft 365, in a blog post. The latest of these investments is the launch of FastTrack for Windows 10 deployment guidance. The benefit takes the form of free expert assistance on Windows 10 deployments for situations where there are at least 150 licenses of an eligible service or plan. "Sometimes you have a complex scenario and aren’t even sure where to start, or you’ve encountered a problem that has your migration stalled. There are times when you need to talk to an expert to get guidance on where to go next," Davis said.  FastTrack, Davis said in the post, will assist with envisioning a technical plan and determining how to deploy new users—and will continue to offer help throughout the deployment.

Researchers often give security vulnerabilities catchy names to help them attract more attention. Many of these monikers seem like nonsense--Heartbleed, Spectre, and Meltdown all sound more like emo bands than security flaws--but apparently the researchers at Eclypsium prefer to be a bit more direct. When the company revealed serious issues with more than 40 drivers on Saturday, it simply titled its report Screwed Drivers. (Catchy.) Eclypsium said it found severe vulnerabilities in drivers from "every major BIOS vendor" as well as the likes of Asus, Toshiba, Nvidia, Intel, AMD, and Huawei, which is pretty bad news. But worse still was the company's realization that all of the insecure drivers had been signed by valid Certificate Authorities and certified by Microsoft. Eclypsium said this means the insecure drivers can be installed "on all modern versions" of Windows despite their flaws. The company also explained that "there is currently no universal mechanism to keep a Windows machine from loading one of these known bad drivers" and that some features "specific to Windows Pro, Windows Enterprise and Windows Server may offer some protection to a subset of users." And that's only if administrators decide to use those features; otherwise, their Windows devices will allow the insecure drivers to be installed anyway. "Vulnerable or outdated system and component firmware is a common problem and a high-value target for attackers, who can use it to launch other attacks, completely brick systems, or remain on a device for years gathering data, even after the device is wiped. Lots more can be found on OUR FORUM.