When Liza Minnelli sang that famous tune, “Money makes the world go around,” she should have added one more word: time. Time makes the world go around. It’s that one agreed-upon part of life that the world shares. From laptops to phones to wall clocks to just about every other technology, time is everywhere, controlling our important life responsibilities. In cybersecurity, time is also critical. Event log files rely on time. Forensic investigations rely on time. Networks rely on time. In fact, Network Time Protocol (NTP) is one of the oldest internet protocols still in use.
So, imagine the impact if an attacker were to manipulate time. That’s the question our X-Force Red Global Hardware Hacking Lead Adam Laurie is diving into for his upcoming Black Hat Europe keynote presentation. I spoke to him ahead of his talk to get a better sense of what it will cover.
Abby: Thank you, Adam, for taking the time (wink, wink) to chat with me. This topic is unique. Why did you choose to explore it further?
Adam: Abby, everything relies on accurate timing. Transactions rely on time. Blockchain relies on time. Communication protocols and systems can’t operate without synchronized clocks because they use time windows for transmissions. If clocks are skewed, the transmissions will bump into each other and the whole thing breaks down. Time is at the center of our most important activities, which is why I thought it would be interesting to see how an attacker could manipulate time, and the type of impact it would have from a cybersecurity perspective.
Abby: Which cybersecurity processes do you think would be most impacted by ..
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