OSCON post-conference proceedings

OSCON2015, the O’Reilly Open Source Convention, just ended. In addition to Matthew’s TPM CloudOS talk, there were a few other interesting talks:

Building a trustworthy computer
Matthew Garrett (CoreOS)
As we become more and more reliant on our computers, attackers become more and more sophisticated. How can we build a computer that’s resilient to some of the more subtle attacks such as firmware modification?
http://cdn.oreillystatic.com/en/assets/1/event/129/Building%20a%20trustworthy%20computer%20Presentation.odp

Closed devices powered by open source software? The IoT Paradox.
Peter Hoddie (Marvell)
The Internet of Things is built on open source software, and yet the devices are far from open. This isn’t the future that free and open source contributors have been working toward. It’s a disappointment for the Open Source Community, but we can lead the way to freedom, transparency, and collaboration in IoT. And we must—to avert impending frustration for increasingly savvy consumers.
http://cdn.oreillystatic.com/en/assets/1/event/129/Closed%20devices%20powered%20by%20open%20source%20software_%20The%20IoT%20Paradox_%20Presentation.pdf

Hacking smart electronics
Robert Gallup (XOBXOB)
Prototypes allow us to see, touch, feel, and refine ideas and designs. Starting from zero, this hands-on workshop explores smart hardware prototyping using a micro-controller and basic electronic components. You’ll connect LEDs, buttons, and knobs, then program a micro-controller to define behavior. Through this you’ll better understand the tools and process of designing smart, connected products.
http://cdn.oreillystatic.com/en/assets/1/event/129/Hacking%20smart%20electronics%20Presentation.zip
http://robertgallup.github.io/get/OSCONCourseware.zip

Introduction to developing embedded Linux device drivers
Nick Gudman (Hewlett Packard)
Learning to develop device drivers can be intimidating, but Linux makes it simpler than ever to write your own device driver. Using a simple driver for a monochromatic character display as a guide, we will briefly explore important topics for developing embedded Linux device drivers.
http://cdn.oreillystatic.com/en/assets/1/event/129/Introduction%20to%20developing%20embedded%20Linux%20device%20drivers%20Presentation.odp

Ironic: A modern approach to hardware provisioning
Devananda van der Veen (HP Cloud)
Ironic is a modern tool for hardware provisioning. Combining a RESTful API, scalable control plane, and pluggable hardware drivers, Ironic installs operating systems efficiently and repeatably on diverse hardware. We will demonstrate Ironic with Ansible, install, build, and deploy a machine image, and discuss the project’s architecture, history, and goals. Deep knowledge is not required.
http://cdn.oreillystatic.com/en/assets/1/event/129/Ironic_%20A%20modern%20approach%20to%20hardware%20provisioning%20Presentation.pdf

Raspberry Pi hacks
Ruth Suehle (Red Hat), Tom “spot” Callaway (Red Hat)
Ruth Suehle and Tom Callaway, authors of _Raspberry Pi Hacks_ (O’Reilly, December 2013) offer technical tips for makers, hackers, and tinkerers who want to take advantage of the Raspberry Pi. You’ll learn universally useful things, like how to add a power switch, followed by a show-and-tell of fun things that Ruth and Tom as well as many others have built.
http://cdn.oreillystatic.com/en/assets/1/event/129/Raspberry%20Pi%20hacks%20Presentation.pdf

Using open source tools to secure containers and clouds
Derek Thurston (Booz Allen Hamilton)
Is your cloud secure? Is your cloud of containers secure? Security should be built-in from Day Zero, and not layered in as an afterthought. What open source tools are out there now to help you in your quest to not be on the front page of the news? How are all of the latest hacks happening, and how can we put tools in place to prevent these from happening again?
http://cdn.oreillystatic.com/en/assets/1/event/129/Using%20open%20source%20tools%20to%20secure%20containers%20and%20clouds%20Presentation.ppt

I’m sure there’re some other gems too, the above list is what caught my eye… Mr. O’Reilly, please make the video — or at least audio — publicly-available too, don’t just for post-conference proceedings!

http://www.oscon.com/open-source-2015/public/schedule/proceedings

Matthew Garrett hardware talk at OSCON

As reported on by Seth on the Cypherpunks list, Matthew Garrett of CoreOS gave a talk earlier today at OSCON, on open hardware design, with a security background. OSCON is The O’Reilly Open Source Convention, probably the largest open source convention in North America. The slides are online, no audio/video yet, AFAICT. (I hope OSCON doesn’t continue to charge for access to post-conference video…)

http://www.oscon.com/open-source-2015/public/schedule/detail/41536

http://cdn.oreillystatic.com/en/assets/1/event/129/Building%20a%20trustworthy%20computer%20Presentation.odp

 

Building a trustworthy computer
Matthew Garrett (CoreOS)
11:10am–11:50am Friday, 07/24/2015

The Snowden revelations demonstrated the lengths that government agencies  
were willing and able to go to in order to subvert computers. But these  
attacks aren’t limited to state-level actors – security researchers  
continue to demonstrate new vulnerabilities and weaknesses that would  
permit sophisticated criminals to achieve the same goals.

In the face of these advanced attacks, what can we do to detect and  
mitigate them? How can we make use of existing security features, and what  
changes can we make to system design? In short, how can we ensure that a  
user can trust that their computer is acting in their interests rather  
than somebody else’s?

This presentation will cover some of the existing security features and  
recent design changes in systems that can make it easier to detect  
attacks, and provide mechanisms for defending against them in the first  
place, along with simple design changes that would make it easier for  
users to ensure that components haven’t been backdoored. In addition it  
will discuss some of the remaining challenges that don’t have solid  
answers as yet. Topics covered will include: Firmware security, Trusted
platform modules, attestation, and associated privacy risks, Hardware
design to support offline verification, Remaining components that could
act against the interests of the  hardware owner

Matthew Garrett is a security developer at CoreOS, specializing in the  
areas where software starts knowing a little more about hardware than  
you’d like. He implemented much of Linux’s support for UEFI Secure Boot,  
does things with TPMs and has found more bugs in system firmware than he’s  
entirely comfortable with.