I'll Let Myself In: Tactics of Physical Pen Testers
Why Hacker News recommends it
HN recommends it as an entertaining overview of physical pen testing, and cites it when threads discuss how easily doors and locks are bypassed.
What it is
Deviant Ollam, head of a physical penetration testing team, presents tactics for getting into buildings, from bypassing door levers with a wire to defeating bank doors. He argues that physical security is often surprisingly weak.
Recommended by 5 HN commenters across 5 different months, 2018 to 2021.
What Hacker News said
Strong rec rozab · 2021-07 · on “List of Special Elevator Modes”
Deviant Ollam's talks are always first class. I also love this one, about physical pentesting in general: [this video]
Recommends jstrieb · 2019-11 · on “Ask HN: What's the most valuable thing you can learn in an hour?”
Simple physical penetration testing tactics are easy to learn and apply widely. These skills can be a quick way to have better security awareness, and can be a fun party trick. For example, many of the techniques listed in this (<1hr) video: [this video]
Recommends jodrellblank · 2020-01 · on “The first chosen-prefix collision for SHA-1”
The internet brings a much bigger attack surface than local people who can reach a front door, and home users access the same openssh as companies do, but companies (can) afford stronger doors. "Most people's home doors can't withstand a hit from a sledgehammer" -> "we shouldn't talk about cryptographic weaknesses in case someone abuses them" is a stretch, the comparison does break down. [1] is a fun YouTube video about physical pen testing; one example at 13:45 in the video, the presenter is walking home from a bar, walks up to a locked high street bank, spits a mouthful of beer through the gap in the doors, triggers the presence sensor on the inside which lets people out, and the door open
Recommends magicalhippo · 2020-11 · on “DIY Smart Doorbell with a Raspberry Pi”
Reminded me of this talk. So many silly things leading to easy access. "I'll Let Myself In: Tactics of Physical Pen Testers" [this video]
Recommends jimpudar · 2021-03 · on “Phone app can figure out the shape of your house key by listening to you use it”
This is nowhere near being viable for real world use. Far more concerning is how easy it is to bypass most physical security measures. Forgetting about how easy it is to pick open most locks, many doors aren't even installed properly in the first place. Check out this YouTube video [0] to see what I'm talking about. [0] [this video]
Cites Konnstann · 2018-12 · on “Dear Developer, the Web Isn't About You”
>Wait, what? I can't find anything about door levers having this kind of security risk. I specifically remember this talk: [this video] at around 18 minutes in he shows one of his employees(?) use a long bit of wire to pull the lever and open the door in a matter of seconds.
Cites dotancohen · 2019-08 · on “A Boeing Code Leak Exposes Security Flaws Deep in a 787's Guts”
All those cabinets use the same key across cities as well! Otherwise FEMA and other services would be unable to function. For the same reason all LEO handcuffs use the same key, so that any officer could release any handcuffed individual. Edit: Some googling for links let me to this video, which seems relevant: I'll Let Myself In: Tactics of Physical Pen Testers [this video]
Cites isbvhodnvemrwvn · 2021-02 · on “Hacker increased chemical level at Oldsmar's city water system, sheriff says”
They don't even need to be internet-accessible, physical security is often weak as well. Surprisingly relevant: [this video]