We are used to understanding ingenuity as the ability to imagine or invent things by intelligently and skillfully combining the knowledge we possess and the means at our disposal. Not so well known is reverse engineering, which is the ability to apply this ingenuity to the task of systematically decomposing and understanding something that has already been built, to learn from its operation and its communications when interacting with other components.
Reverse engineering has become a valuable tool for analyzing the final security of products such as drones, IoT devices and even cars, as it allows to verify the security mechanisms implemented in the analyzed products in a practical way against attacks such as tampering or industrial espionage.
Unique methodology for drone reversing
One of the main targets of this reverse engineering has been commercial drones, as they have largely embraced wireless communications as the main method of communication between aircraft and pilots, to exchange multimedia information such as real-time camera image, as well as all control information such as commands or telemetry.
Ethon Shield has created its own reverse engineering methodology with tools developed to carry it out, being recognized by the French Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation (MESRI) and receiving approval as an organization performing research and development of these activities on commercial drones.
Smart cars - Connected cars
In 2015 it was shown to the world how a Jeep car could be remotely controlled from a laptop mainly due to two major security flaws in the internet-connected multimedia radio and the car's central communications system. Far from decreasing connectivity, cars are becoming more connected every year, for which they have to use wireless communications.
Doors open simply by tapping smartphones, on-board computers connected to central systems and mobile applications to find or manage some of the vehicle's functionality. All of which can be analyzed with the increasingly abundant hacking tools that allow learning from the communications between the various components with the ultimate goal of being able to remotely control the car.
Ethon Shield has the ability to address reverse engineering projects to smart and connected car communications, from the smallest systems embedded deep inside, to communications with remote systems for control and telemetry.