Good security info here. Maybe the basics aren't so basic after all? Or just not particularly common. Attackers keep finding the same gaps in security programs - Help Net Security share.google/1QGED52NW61q...

I would bet this is based on "experience" from intelligence agencies. Locations to affect operations is easier when the device has "forever days".* *Forever day, kind of like a zero day except it will never be patched. www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/securit...

Don't pay these attackers Don't fund their second houses. Don't make their boat payments. Don't finance their retirement. If you pay them, they will come. Even if you pay them you still have to do the security. And sometimes paying them doesn't work. www.theregister.com/2026/02/04/n...

Working with RF and a commercial($$$) Faraday cage is tricky. My SDR radio is sealed inside. Watch as RF is radiated from me to the laptop traveling the USB cable into the Faraday cage and the SDR receiver. photos.app.goo.gl/6GzoNdygezMn... @sansinstitute.bsky.social #HardwareHacking #SEC617

These are the high scorers in my SCADA security class in D.C. last month. What a great bunch of folks! @sansinstitute.bsky.social #SANSICS #ScadaSecurity

#Bluetooth #HardwareHacking Denmark Orders Public Officials to Turn Off Their Bluetooth Due to High Risk of Being Spied on by U.S. Intelligence share.google/nBgXDPRRKxaq...

Hardware Hacking Workshop at RSA. Attend my hands-on hardware hacking workshop: program a microcontroller to attack a computer, and keep the device when you're done. #HardwareHacking #SANS

I am alternately amazed by AI's grunt work and appalled by its stupidity. It always teases me in programming projects by getting to 80% done very quickly and 100% done frequently never...

I'm excited about getting my new bread rack put together in my below ground lair.  It’s giving me more space for upcoming projects. #HardwareHacking #BelowGroundLair #LaBORatory

#HarwareHacking, a little out of the ordinary. A Wall-e robot repair. #walle #Robot #Repair www.linkedin.com/pulse/hardwa... Hat tip to @randirain.bsky.social

China using a more redundant approach to PNT, position navigation and timing, including ground stations as opposed to only space-based "GPS" as most countries do. breakingdefense.com/2026/01/chin...

In Washington DC teaching a cyber security class for critical infrastructure. My workshop after class was a lot of fun and a big hit. A participant said: "The highlight? Monta Elkins's hands-on workshop, where we programmed a $4 microcontroller to execute USB HID attacks. "

Curious. FBI looking for unjammable drones. The FBI is hunting for 'unjammable' drones – and these flying cameras use one very old-school trick to stop remote attacks | TechRadar share.google/i43iIVcIQHfF...

I hear there's a really good talk happening Tuesday night, live and online. :) #HardwareHacking. Sign up here: www.sans.org/orlando-fall...

"Shutdown Sparks 85% Increase in US Gov't Cyberattacks" share.google/cfhUcXE7JlIK...

Hardware hacking always wins. Hacking a casino card shuffling machine. #HardwareHacking www.wired.com/story/how-ha...

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If you've been in my classes, we've talked about this. -- Cache poisoning vulnerabilities found in 2 DNS resolving apps - Ars Technica share.google/61TQ9VlXy6iJ...

Electric sector critical infrastructure protection audit issues in 2025. -- FERC 2025 CIP Audit Findings: AMPYX CYBER share.google/WY1HSRXdnBcP... @ampyxcyber.com

Repeat after me: switches are computers running software that may be vulnerable. If you've ever been in one of my classes you already know this. #HardwareHacking Cisco Warns of Actively Exploited SNMP Vuln Allowing RCE or DoS in IOS Software share.google/W7KPY69grqZ1...

Come join me at SANS Cyber Defense Initiative in Washington DC and learn about security controls for critical infrastructure. We'll have a blast!

My UV glasses to harden my clear fingernail polish w/ UV light. The polish insulates and tacks down the small wires I soldered. RP2040 with a 1.28" color LCD display. No good place to grab 3.3V volts except directly on the voltage regulator output pin. :( #HardwareHacking

Power failure: If you don't work in critcal infrstructure you may not know that most large generators require power from the electric grid to start. Learn which power sources can "blackstart" if the grid is down. youtu.be/22T9-oknmLM?...

New #HardwareHacking technique shows high performance mice can be used as microphones. --- Mic-E-Mouse technique harnesses mouse sensors, converts acoustic vibrations into speech | Tom's Hardware share.google/6bnLg3D3xlAv...

Timing side channel attack in OPENSSL CVE-2025-9231, Moderate-severity affecting SM2 64-bit ARM. A timing side-channel that could allow recovery of private keys through precise timing measurements. Remote exploitation remains theoretical but possible securityaffairs.com/182845/secur...

Intel and AMD agree, in cybersecurity #HardwareHacking always wins. ------ Intel and AMD trusted enclaves, a foundation for network security, fall to physical attacks - Ars Technica share.google/8iN6bXswxIp1...

"This security issue could allow potential attackers to gain complete and persistent control of both the BMC system and the main server OS," New Supermicro BMC flaws can create persistent backdoors #HardwareHacking share.google/xrqGNVc2W5S9...

I be hopin’ all ye scallywags enjoyed Talk Like a Pirate Day, one o’ me most beloved holidays. Fear not, fer next year the dread pirate Roberts may once again, set sail across the cyber-seas, an’ school the landlubbers in the art o’ industrial cybersecurity! Yaarrrr!

Hardware hacking warnings Exclusive: US warns hidden radios may be embedded in solar-powered highway infrastructure | Reuters share.google/kXscXIl4eGqV...

‘Unrestrained’ Chinese Cyberattackers May Have Stolen Data From Almost Every American - The New York Times share.google/K23WgUmY7smX...

What a fantastic talk by such an amazing speaker: me. :) youtu.be/Vd_aFOGeE2o?... #S4x25

Industrial control system hacking #ICShacking Pro-Russian hackers blamed for water dam sabotage in Norway share.google/PC8tl4Zk9L7V...

An attacker with physical access to a user's laptop can pry it open and directly access the USH board over USB bypassing Windows login security. #HardwareHacking www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/securit...

"Technical Challenges include firmware vulnerabilities. Ensuring the integrity and secure update of inverter based generation firmware, which could lead to grid instability if compromised." -Ingrid Rayo Innovative Resiliency #NewNERCrequirements #HardwareHacking #EnergySec

Presenting at an Energy Security conference this week in Disneyland Anaheim CA. :) #WorkingRemote #ImaLuckyGuy #EnergySec

We learned a lot and had fun doing it in the SCADA security class in Washington D.C. So much so the class wanted a picture. It was really nice teaching such an engaged group. #ICSsecurity

Here are the second place winners, the "colton_bonding" team, in my SCADA security class in D.C. The first place winners were a live online team and not pictured, the "IndustrialShieldUnit" team. #SANSics410

I'm excited to be presenting the keynote address tomorrow at the Virginia Cybersecurity Education conference in Richmond. vacybereducon25.sched.com

See my talk tonight (Friday) from D.C. live online here: We'll discuss how timing side-channel attacks work (against a keypad safe), and how to use Pulseview (the wireshark of hardware hacking) with a $15 logic analyzer to accomplish this. www.sans.org/webcasts/key...

Found him! #whereswaldo

If you’re shaping the next generation of cybersecurity pros—from K-12 to higher ed—you won’t want to miss the Virginia Cybersecurity Education Conference! There will be an AMAZING keynote speaker there. Me! :) sites.google.com/vt.edu/vacyb... @VaCyberRange @SANSInstitute @SANSICS

Just caught this guy in the background trying to copy my pose. #FlexOff #DisneySelfie #GastonWho #StillTheRealDeal

"The shortfall is not about technical capability, but related to the different approaches the two nations have taken to attracting and training hackers" www.darkreading.com/cyber-risk/u...

Starting my conference workshop at the SANS ICS security conference. There were a lot more people that wanted to participate than we expected, about 120. We had a really good time and people got to take home a hardware hacking tool that they programmed. #HardwareHacking

#HardwareHacking 10 out of 10

Join me at EnergySec's Security Summit, bring your laptop and you'll get a microcontroller to program and keep. We're going to have a Hacking good time!

"There is nothing more permanent than a temporary firewall rule" -Austin Scott ​Dragos, Inc. ​SANS ICS Summit

Automating the SANS ICS 5 Critical Controls (for Free*) [using AI] By Mike Holcomb SANS ICS Summit @mikeholcomb.bsky.social