Remote Connectivity and VoIP Hacking

OVERVIEW

With the writing of the fifth edition of this series, not much has changed when it comes to the technology aspect of those plain-old telephone system (POTS) lines, and yet many companies still have various dial-up connections into their private networks or infrastructure. In this chapter, we'll show you how even an ancient 9600-baud modem can bring the Goliath of network and system security to its knees.

It may seem like we've chosen to start our section on network hacking with something of an anachronism: analog dial-up hacking. The advent of broadband to the home through cable modems and DSL continues to make dial-up destined for retirement, but that trip to the old-folks home has yet to begin. The public switched telephone network (PSTN) is still a popular and ubiquitous means of connecting with most businesses and homes. Similarly, the sensational stories of Internet sites being hacked overshadow more prosaic dial-up intrusions that are in all likelihood more damaging and easier to perform.

In fact, we'd be willing to bet that most large companies are more vulnerable through poorly inventoried modem lines than via firewall-protected Internet gateways. Noted AT&T security guru Bill Cheswick once referred to a network protected by a firewall as "a crunchy shell around a soft, chewy center." The phrase has stuck for this reason: Why battle an inscrutable firewall when you can cut right to the target's soft, white underbelly through a poorly secured remote access server? Securing dial-up connectivity is still probably one of the most important steps toward sealing up perimeter security. Dialup hacking is approached in much the same way as any other hacking: footprint, scan, enumerate, exploit. With some exceptions, the entire process can be automated with traditional hacking tools called war-dialers or demon dialers . Essentially, these are tools that programmatically dial large banks of phone numbers, log valid data connections (called carriers ), attempt to identify the system on the other end of the phone line, and optionally attempt a log on by guessing common usernames and passphrases. Manual connection to enumerated numbers is also often employed if special software or specific knowledge of the answering system is required.

The choice of war-dialing software is therefore a critical one for good guys or bad guys trying to find unprotected dial-up lines. This chapter will first discuss two of the most popular war-dialing programs available for free on the Internet (ToneLoc and THCScan) and one commercial product: Sandstorm Enterprises' PhoneSweep. As of this edition, Secure Logix's TeleSweep Secure has been discontinued (January 22, 2003). All that is left of TeleSweep Secure is a web link: http://applications.securelogix.com/tss_information.htm.

Following our discussion of specific tools, we will illustrate manual and automated exploitation techniques that may be employed against targets identified by war-dialing software, including remote PBXs and voicemail systems.

Posted in: System Hacking