This top home security system could be disabled remotely

By Mayank Sharma
published

Vendor wouldn’t return emails or acknowledge the vulnerabilities, claim researchers

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A popular home security system (opens in new tab) can reportedly be disabled, according to cybersecurity (opens in new tab) researchers.

Researchers at Rapid7 found a pair of vulnerabilities in the Fortress S03 home security system that relies on Wi-Fi (opens in new tab) to connect cameras, motion sensors and sirens to the internet, to enable owners to remotely monitor their home. 

Rapid7 has shared the details (opens in new tab) about the two vulnerabilities after it did not hear from Fortress in over three months, which is the standard window of time for security disclosures, followed by the industry. 

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According to the timeline shared by Rapid7, it is confident it got through to the company since Fortress silently closed its first support ticket over a week later after it was created.

Anybody home?

As per the details shared by Rapid7, it found that the Fortress S03 system relies on a radio-controlled key fob that helps arm and disarm the system. 

Its researchers discovered that signals from the keys were unencrypted and could be intercepted, which enabled them to capture and replay the signals for “arm” and “disarm”.

It found a second vulnerability in Fortress’ unauthenticated API, which can be remotely queried over the internet without the server checking the legitimacy of the request. All it takes is a homeowner’s email address for the server to return the device’s unique IMEI code, which can be used to remotely disarm the system.

Rapid7 claims it brought the issues to Fortress’ knowledge, but the company never returned their messages, even after it raised a new ticket reiterating their intent to publish the details.

While Fortress did not respond to queries from TechCrunch, an email from their law firm labelled Rapid7’s claims as “false, purposely misleading and defamatory,” without adding more details. 

Via TechCrunch (opens in new tab)

Mayank Sharma
Mayank Sharma

With almost two decades of writing and reporting on Linux, Mayank Sharma would like everyone to think he’s TechRadar Pro’s expert on the topic. Of course, he’s just as interested in other computing topics, particularly cybersecurity, cloud, containers, and coding.

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