NG911: The Next Gen of Emergency Ph0nage

Architecture and Background

For 48 years, 9-1-1 has been /the/ emergency telephone number in the United States. It’s also been mired in 48-year-old technology. So let’s just put that on the internet, right? What could possibly go wrong? Without the radical segmentation of the PSTN, the move to IP networks (even the private, managed kind) will bring new 9-1-1 capabilities AND new vulnerabilities.

Vulnerability Analysis

This talk builds on the work of quad, r3plicant, and Peter Hefley (see &lquo;Hacking 911: Adventures in Destruction, Disruption, and Death,&rquo; DEF CON 22, http://ow.ly/10AvZh). It provides an overview of NG9-1-1 architecture and security concerns, and identifies critical attack surfaces that Public Safety Answering Points need to monitor and secure. Familiarity with NENA’si3 and NG-SEC standards may be helpful, but is not required. CINCVolFLT (Trey Forgety) is Director of Government Affairs for NENA: The 9-1-1 Association. He previously served as a Presidential Management Fellow in the U.S.

Exploitation and Demonstrations

Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Emergency Communications, with rotations in the Federal Communications Commission’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, and the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration. A sometimes-piratical sailor and inveterate tinkerer, CINCVolFLT’s recent activities have included work on establishing a backup timing source for telecom networks to ensure service during GPS outages or jamming, and serving as pro bono counsel to QueerCon.He holds a B.S. in Applied Physics and a J.D., both from the University of Tennessee (GO VOLS!). AK3R303 (Alex Kremlin) is Managing Partner and CTO of SecureSet, which is a cybersecurity services provider specializing in education and startup acceleration.

Remediation and Defensive Strategies

Previously, AK3R303 was a Technology Strategist with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and a Guest Researcher at the National Institute of Standards and Technology focusing on public safety and mobile communications network security. He holds a B.A. from Fordham University where he studied nuclear game theory through the political science department in Beijing, China. He holds an M.A. in National Security & Strategic Studies from the US Naval War College, and is an M.S. / Ph.D. candidate at the CU Boulder College of Engineering & Applied Sciences in Telecom Engineering.