Posted on 11/15/2015 6:26:20 AM PST by markomalley
US-based iPower Technologies has discovered that body cameras sold by Martel Electronics come pre-infected with the Conficker worm (Win32/Conficker.B!inf).
The specific line of body cameras iPower tested, is the same one sold to police forces around the US, used by street patrol officers and SWAT team members in their operations.
The model, Frontline Body Camera, is attached to an officer's chest and works by recording his activities on video, his location using a GPS tracker, and taking regular snapshots as images.
The camera records data on an internal drive, from where the officer or his supervisors can download it onto a computer via a USB cable.
According to iPower's account, this is where they've spotted the infection.
The company's IT team was evaluating a new batch of body cameras they just received from Martel, and after unwrapping and connecting one to a computer, they were alerted by their security solution of the Conficker infection.
In terms of malware, Conficker is a dinosaur when compared to current threats. Most antivirus engines detect it today, and very few criminal groups use it because of this.
If they do, they usually deploy it to help infections propagate, Conficker being very apt at quickly spreading on local networks and disabling local protections.
While detection rate is high, Conficker can still be very useful, especially today with the proliferation of more and more IoT (Internet of Things) devices.
Since almost all IoT devices can't run security products and are usually programmed without paying too much attention to self-protection measures, Conficker can be as effective in 2015 as it was in 2008 and 2009.
While the worm is almost useless on PCs because of the built-in security updates included with Windows a long long time ago, modern Internet-connected equipment is ripe for the taking.
iPower has said that it contacted Martel, but they did not receive an answer before going public with their findings a day later.
Below is a proof-of-concept video recorded by iPower's team.
(video at link)
Below is a video presentation of the Martel Frontline Body Camera.
(video at link)
All your body cams are belong to us.
So the cameras are basically a computer? So what OS do they use?
I swear I thought they were saying Mattel and thinking they were branching out again. Kind of like the M-16.
The camera records data on an internal drive, from where the officer or his supervisors can download it onto a computer via a USB cable.
The virus is sitting in the camera waiting to be downloaded via USB; much like a virus on a “contaminated” USB stick.
Oh my! One could suspect some recordings will be lost for no reason whatsoever. We’ll just have to take the word of our heroic first responders, comrade.
The way it works is, the body camera looks like a USB stick to the PC. When the camera is plugged in, Windows plug-and-play recognizes it and installs it no problem, it looks just like an external harddrive or memory stick. But as soon as you double-click to open it, the virus is installed on the PC.
If you think back this was how many viruses are propagated and why the DoD and other security-conscious places prohibit the use of portable memory devices. The camera is just another memory device that unfortunately carries the virus straight from the factory. Martel got’s some ‘splaining to do!
Let’s take a wild guess that Martel is Chinese or Ruski company.
Fluke Corporation Acquires Martel Electronics Corporation
Marketwired
Fluke Corp. January 3, 2012 11:45 AM
EVERETT, WA—(Marketwire -01/03/12)- Fluke Corporation, the global leader in portable electronic test and measurement technology, announces its acquisition of Martel Electronics Corporation, a Derry, N.H.-based manufacturer of electronic test tools and OEM products. In addition to producing its own Martel and Beta branded products, Martel has worked closely with Fluke since 1996, helping with the development and manufacture of Fluke process tools and calibration instruments.
Fluke is about as good as you can get.
Still likely manufactured in China.
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