Hacking cable modems: The Later Years

Agenda:

• Presentation (1 hr)

Hacking cable modems: The Later Years

The technology used by cable modems evolved considerably during the last years, bringing newer security challenges. The DOCSIS 3.0 transition introduced modern equipments with better capacity and newer functionalities. Securing cable modems is more difficult than other embedded devices because, on most cases, you can’t choose your own device/firmware and software updates are almost entirely controlled by your ISP. The end-users access the Internet with blackboxes and trust that their ISPs and the vendors will keep them safe. The focus of the talk is not to discuss theft of service and getting free Internet access. I'll focus on the security of the cable modems, the technology used to manage them, how the data is protected and how the ISPs upgrade the firmwares. Spoiler Alert: everything's really really bad.

• Networking / Open Discussion

Hope to see you on the 2nd of March!