Members of Black Hat Europe Review Board Predict an Increase in Attacks on Hardware, ARM-Based Devices and Cyber-Physical Systems in 2020

Briefings on these attacks to be presented at Black Hat Europe 2019

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 05, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Black Hat, the world’s leading producer of information security events, today highlights predictions from members of the Black Hat Europe Review Board on the technology, systems and attacks expected to dominate the information security industry in 2020. Attacks on hardware, ARM-based devices and cyber-physical systems were predicted to be an area of particular concern in 2020 and will be highlighted at the upcoming Black Hat Europe, taking place Dec. 2-5 in London, England.

Widespread Hardware Attacks
Hardware-based attacks were previously considered incredibly niche, but according to Daniel Cuthbert, Global Head of Security Research for Banco Santander, hardware attacks will become more commonplace in 2020.

“With the rise of the maker community and access to cheap hardware and designs, the effectiveness of hardware-based attack methods to gain entry or subvert has improved,” said Cuthbert. “Consumers seemingly trust that their physical devices don’t include malicious components, but this trust may become more of an issue in the future.”

Related Black Hat Europe 2019 Briefings:

• Fatal Fury on ESP32: Time to Release Hardware Exploits – presented by Limited Results, Independent Security Researcher
• Breaking Bootloaders on the Cheap – presented by Qais Temeiza, Independent Security Researcher & David Oswald, Senior Lecturer, Security and Privacy Group, University of Birmingham

Securing and Exploiting ARM-Based Devices
IoT exploitation has become increasingly relevant as the market share of ARM-based devices grows bigger and replaces other processors in traditional computing such as desktops, laptops and server-class systems. According to Maria Markstedter, independent security researcher and trainer, ARM-based devices may be given a closer look in 2020.

“With the new releases of Windows on ARM, and the rumors that Apple is replacing Intel with ARM processors, I expect an upsurge in the number of people looking both at securing and exploiting ARM-based devices,” said Markstedter.

Related Black Hat Europe 2019 Briefings:

• OEM Finder: Hunting Vulnerable OEM IoT Devices at Scale – presented by Asuka Nakajima, Security Researcher, NTT Secure Platform Laboratories
• Understanding the IoT Threat Landscape and a Home Appliance Manufacturer's Approach to Counter Threats to IoT – presented by Hikohiro Y Lin, General Manager and Head of Panasonic PSIRT, Panasonic Corporation & Yuki Osawa, CISSP, Panasonic Corporation

Real-World Instances of Cyber-Physical System Hacks
According to Stefano Zanero, Associate Professor at Politecnico di Milano, there may be an increase in cyber-physical system hacks in the future:

Zanero said, “Information security experts have known for a long time that cyber-physical systems, particularly in the industrial and automotive world, but also in medical devices, have been designed for a different environment and threat model. We are now close to the moment where we will be out of time to redesign those systems so that they are resilient to the goals of modern attackers.”

Related Black Hat Europe 2019 Briefings:

• Doors of Durin: The Veiled Gate to Siemens S7 Silicon – presented by Ali Abbasi, Post-Doctoral Researcher, Ruhr-University Bochum; Tobias Scharnowski, PhD Student, Ruhr-University Bochum & Thorsten Holz, Professor, Ruhr-University Bochum
• Unleashing the Power of My 20+ Years Old Car – presented by Stanislas Lejay, Vulnerability Researcher, WhiteMotion

To view the full list of Briefings, visit: blackhat.com/eu-19/briefings/schedule/index.html

The Black Hat Europe Review Board is comprised of the industry's most credible and distinguished security professionals and thought leaders throughout various areas of the information security community. The Review Board advises Black Hat on its strategic direction, reviewing and programming conference content and providing unparalleled insight into the research community. You can find more information on the Review Board here: blackhat.com/eu-19/review-board.html  

Top sponsors of Black Hat Europe 2019 include:
Diamond Sponsors: Lenovo; Platinum Sponsors: Facebook, Immersive Labs, KnowBe4, Qualys, Recorded Future; Gold Sponsors: Allied Telesis, Claranet Cyber Security & NotSoSecure, Cloudflare, CrowdStrike, Cyxtera, Darktrace, Elastic, Endace, IBM Security, Jacobs, QA Ltd, SolarWinds, Synopsys, ThreatSpike Labs, Varonis. For a full list of sponsors, visit: blackhat.com/eu-19/event-sponsors.html

Future Black Hat Dates & Events

• Black Hat Europe 2019, London, UK, December 2-5
• Black Hat Asia 2020, Singapore, March 31-April 3
• Black Hat USA 2020, Las Vegas, NV, August 1-6

About Black Hat
For more than 20 years, Black Hat has provided attendees with the very latest in information security research, development, and trends. These high-profile global events and trainings are driven by the needs of the security community, striving to bring together the best minds in the industry. Black Hat inspires professionals at all career levels, encouraging growth and collaboration among academia, world-class researchers, and leaders in the public and private sectors. Black Hat Briefings and Trainings are held annually in the United States, Europe and Asia. More information is available at: blackhat.com. Black Hat is brought to you by Informa Tech.

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Media Contact:
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Black Hat PR
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