Some of you may have read my blog article last year about the BlackBerry mobile device: Hacking the BlackBerry along with the associated whitepaper, Blackberry Security: Ripe for the picking? We decided not to widely distribute that paper for a number of reasons, including the fact that the model reviewed was a tad on the old side (BlackBerry 7290 circa 2004). Well, fast-forward to 2007, when I was supplied with a shiny new BlackBerry Pearl 8100 and a blank sheet of paper.
As I alluded to in my previous blog, the Pearl represents a significant departure for Research In Motion; a departure from the world of purely corporate utility, and an arrival at the world of consumer-oriented features. The device sports a beautifully stylized slimline form-factor, a 1.3 megapixel camera, and a removable media card as standard. Of course, all the...
There has been much talk recently about thelaunch of Windows Vista, and one feature in particular: SpeechRecognition. Speech Recognition allows the user to dictate arbitrarytext to the computer (a letter for example) using speech instead of thekeyboard. It also allows the user to carry out normal computing tasksvia a choice of pre-defined commands. There are commands such as"delete that," "press escape key," and "what can I say?" This last oneshows the user what kinds of command they can use in the currentsituation. If Speech Recognition is running, but sleeping, the usersays "start listening" to activate it.
It has been suggested that Speech Recognition could be subverted fornefarious purposes using malicious audio clips. The scenario would beas follows:
• The user is browsing the Web, with Speech Recognition enabled. • They visit a Web site, with a background audio clip that plays as soon as the site is opened. • The audio clip contains...
There has been much talk recently about thelaunch of Windows Vista, and one feature in particular: SpeechRecognition. Speech Recognition allows the user to dictate arbitrarytext to the computer (a letter for example) using speech instead of thekeyboard. It also allows the user to carry out normal computing tasksvia a choice of pre-defined commands. There are commands such as"delete that," "press escape key," and "what can I say?" This last oneshows the user what kinds of command they can use in the currentsituation. If Speech Recognition is running, but sleeping, the usersays "start listening" to activate it.
It has been suggested that Speech Recognition could be subverted fornefarious purposes using malicious audio clips. The scenario would beas follows:
• The user is browsing the Web, with Speech Recognition enabled. • They visit a Web site, with a background audio clip that plays as soon as the site is opened. • The audio clip contains...
A few months ago, my boss plonked a box on my desk and said "see what you can do with that." That's how I was introduced to the Blackberry. I've been interested in all kinds of PDAs and mobile phones for years now, but I'd never come across a Blackberry. I suppose that up until recently, it has been the preserve of key government and corporate employees, not average-Joe software engineers like me. However, the Blackberry is emerging as an ever more popular platform for the general public. In the next few weeks that followed, I noticed a common thread in the architecture and features of the device: security first and functionality second.
What do I mean? Well, take Bluetooth for example. When you're looking at the box of your shiny new Blackberry and you see that it has Bluetooth support, you might think "great, I can use it with my laptop to go online while on the move." Bzzzt—wrong. Although the Blackberry does...
