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Zero Day

Ryan Naraine, Emil Protalinski and Dancho Danchev

Design specs on the president's helicopter found on Iranian systems; leaked via P2P

By | March 1, 2009, 2:17pm PST

Summary: Design specs on the President’s helicopter, Marine One, have been found on an Iranian server, according to a security firm that gathers intelligence on peer-to-peer networks. According to P2P intelligence firm Tiversa, a soon-to-be-ex-employee of a Bethesda-based military contractor installed a P2P app on their cleared desktop and leaked out the design specs for the helicopter [...]

Design specs on the President’s helicopter, Marine One, have been found on an Iranian server, according to a security firm that gathers intelligence on peer-to-peer networks.

According to P2P intelligence firm Tiversa, a soon-to-be-ex-employee of a Bethesda-based military contractor installed a P2P app on their cleared desktop and leaked out the design specs for the helicopter that carries the President from the White House to Air Force One. There aren’t too many details at this time, so all I can say is “Whoops”.

So how would someone stop classified data being distributed via P2P in such a way? There is a class of software products in the security industry that claims to prevent these kinds of events known as “data leakage prevention”, or DLP. Lest you think that you need to run out and buy data leakage prevention software, no DLP software was really necessary for preventing this event. Systems that handle classified data should not be allowed to execute ANY software that hasn’t been previously vetted and installed by the IT department’s security group.

I’m sure that pretty much every DLP vendor, short of maybe the vendor used by the defense contractor, is spending today updating their marketing collateral to talk about how their software prevents this kind of data from leaking out across peer to peer networks. The other document that is being updated today is the resume of whoever was responsible for the military contractor’s desktop security.

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Topics

Adam J. O'Donnell, Ph.D. is an R&D engineer who has focused on computer security since 2000.

Disclosure

Adam O'Donnell

Adam J. O’Donnell currently works for Cloudmark, a messaging security company whose clients include the majority of the Tier 1 customer-facing service providers as well as mobile carriers and social networks. He serves on the advisory committee for the SOURCE Security Conference, as well as several conference technical program committees. Many of his close friends work in the security industry, and he will disclose those relationships as he deems it necessary.

Biography

Adam O'Donnell

Adam J. O'Donnell, Ph.D. is an R&D engineer who has focused on computer security since 2000. He currently is the Director of Emerging Technologies at Cloudmark, a messaging security company located in San Francisco.

Adam early on mastered the art of writing in complete sentences, using both hands and one foot. Later, he learned to do so with each individually. After fourteen years of apprenticeship in the mist-covered hills of central Nepal, Dr. O'Donnell emerged an unparalleled digital warrior and in desperate need of a anti-fungal wash.

Approaching both life and enterprise security with the verve of a particular capuchin, he is respected the world over as an observer of all he sees. Adam's dry blade of analysis will sever the hard candy shell surrounding most technical security concepts, and significantly goo-ify the remaining so as to be consumable in small bites with sufficiently large servings of digestive aids. Just what the doctor ordered.

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RE: Design specs on the president's helicopter found on Iranian systems; leaked via P2P
birumut Updated - 3rd May 2011
Well done! Thank you very much for professional templates and community edition
seslisohbet seslichat
0 Votes
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The only outgoing traffic must go through my proxy server which is controlled with a white list. E-mail is the only other outgoing traffic. And it is done through web mail that is accessed through the proxy.

Securing a network is so easy. I can't believe a government facility or any secure org would have P2P ports open in their firewall. I suspect there is more to the story than P2P.
0 Votes
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I agree
0923UJ234OI 2nd Mar 2009
I agree, there is much more to this story than what is being released. It is very easy to lock a network and roaming laptops down from P2P. This guy must have transfered work onto his own computers.
0 Votes
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I work for rural school system.
deowll 2nd Mar 2009
You couldn't do it here.
Let's face it, the one person?s greed to steal music, movies or other copyrighted material has cost tax payers millions in leaking secret plans for the presidential helicopter.

What a horses a$$.
0 Votes
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Not enough real techs to go around...
OhTheHumanity 2nd Mar 2009
Is what I am picking up from this. A good tech would know that there needs to be security in place. I am all up on keeping my network secure and its a medium size business with not much confidential info to protect at all, but this sort of thing would not even happen on my network and we are so far from having anything that goes into detail of a military aircraft. Looks like they have taken some pointers from the feds and decided to not protect their networks. What a world we live in, giving trust to end users these days is completely wrong as you see things like this happen.
0 Votes
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There are plenty of techs...
buddyjosh 2nd Mar 2009
The problem is that many oranizations do not take these problems seriously until it is too late. With the layoffs recently, I can assure you that there are lots of techs out there, but if the IT department of the organization does not focus on security the money required to protect data will not be added to the budget. When there is a breach, there is plenty of action, but until then...
0 Votes
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Maybe what I should have said:
OhTheHumanity 2nd Mar 2009
Was that there are not enough techs out there to have the courage to stand up and making it any issue. It doesn't work to just say "they won't go for it", you have to show them and give them examples of what can and will happen if this kind of stuff is overlooked. This company overlooked it and now they will have to pay alot more than what they would have up front. In the end you have to do what the higher ups say, but I would never let that happen without expressing full well what could and will happen. After that point I say "well I told you so" and move on.
0 Votes
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Make it a crime
Randomly 2nd Mar 2009
Knowingly installing any unauthorized software on a
computer that contains state secrets should be a felony, if it
isn't already. Then, any computer that is cleared for state
secrets should remind the user of this at every login.
0 Votes
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there are 2 quick stepes needed
Linux Geek 2nd Mar 2009
1.ban windoze on government computers
2.Send the stealth bombers to destroy the Iranian server.
0 Votes
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Hello genius.....
OhTheHumanity 2nd Mar 2009
I don't think this had anything to do with Windoze as you call it. You just showed how ignorant you are with that comment. I did like the stealth bomber strike, that is long overdue.
what variety of fool / troll are you exactly?
guess the network admin must have been running linux servers. For AD on win2k3 or 2k8 boxes can be set to prevent software from being added.
0 Votes
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Don't mind Linux Geek...
ths40 2nd Mar 2009
...he's always this brilliant.
A more detailed story about the P2P problem that can open anyone's computer to leak data can be found on this web site link:
http://www.wpxi.com/money/14707896/detail.html
0 Votes
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Not news
dimonic 2nd Mar 2009
The article is pretty useless - it calls file sharing software "a website you can go to".

On the "greed" comment - I personally use p2p software to share files I create amongst a group of people (since most people are more comfortable with p2p than with uploading via ftp). I pay for music and movies /if they are publicly available/, (except for those only available from Rhapsody - who basically stole back all the songs I had already paid for when they pulled legitimacy out from under their Canadian customers).

Also, seriously - don't people point the "share" directory to some new, previously empty location on their computers? How stupid can people get?
the simple solution is to use terminal services or virtual desktops rather the windows desktops. the data would never be stored on the desktop. If the organization insists on desktop computing, users should be blocked from installing P2P or other apps not required to perform their work. Desktops should be encrypted, and USB ports blocked to prevent file transfer to flash drives.
Yah don't have to know any more than that. If you have the right kind of firewall this still doesn't happen. Ours blocks executables except from previously selected sources.
Anyone know what P2P network couse I would like to see those. Will look nice with my nuclear bomb blue prints grin
No I am not a terrorist or anything like that, I just like collecting odd things
0 Votes
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Plainly silly
fire1 2nd Mar 2009
1. The helicopters (2 kinds in fleet of 18 used as Marine One) are over thirty years old. Their "specifications" are everywhere helicopter parts are sold or maintenance done. They are also no longer in production, and no altered parts are allowed in the airframe than stock from the manufacturer . AVIONICs are probably very enhanced and have some non-standard pieces.

2. What is alarming about finding specifications on a website? I found them on a website. Or is it just a surprise that people who can build long range missiles and potentially nuclear weapons can also use Google?

3. The company announcing this "discovery" is also in the network security business.

4. If there were any significance to the story there would be no story because Naval Security Group and Secret Service would be all over it. The security surrounding HMX-1 is deep and wide. If they're not worried, I'm not worried.

But is does make for a fun day at FAUX News.

(Most of this real information is at globalsecurity.org )
0 Votes
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RE: This is a ploy!
marko...polo 2nd Mar 2009
The government currently has another fleet of presidential helicopters in production through Lockheed Martin, which of course, are way over budget, over due, and not close to completion. They are squirming around looking for ways to justify the over budget expenses, and project continuation with the current economy. It appears they just created one.
0 Votes
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Who cares?
Gradius2 5th Mar 2009
Biggest crisis in all eras (worst than 1930), and we are worried for a MERE HELICOPTER ?!?!?
Well done! Thank you very much for professional templates and community edition
seslisohbet seslichat

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