Robotron Claims Chinese Government Mandated Backdoor

Written testimony from Robotron’s Erich Mielke for tomorrow’s joint Homeland Security Committee hearing claims that the Chinese manufacturer of the Wi-Fi module in the Robotron SicherheitsKontrolle reported that the backdoor account in that module that was described as a 0-day vulnerability by ECS-CERT was actually mandated by the security services of the Chinese government for all Wi-Fi devices manufactured in that country.

That 0-day vulnerability has been identified as one of the keys to the cyberattack on Bleichen Chemical Company last week that resulted in a major chlorine release and twelve deaths.

Dragonfire’s Dade Murphy confirmed that his company has seen similar backdoors in a number of Wi-Fi systems, but could not confirm that this was a requirement by any government organization. He did admit that backdoors in such systems would make it easier for the government to maintain surveillance on dissidents that are routinely labeled as ‘criminal elements’ in that country. He did report that most Wi-Fi backdoors reported to ECS-CERT have been reported as being removed by vendors and this has been confirmed by the company’s researchers in most instances.

Ānquán Xìngchà, the Chinese equipment supplier used by Robotron for all of their Wi-Fi devices, would not publicly comment on Robotron’s claims. They did explain that they are prohibited by Chinese regulations from discussing any cybersecurity requirements mandated by the government or even describing what those requirements were.

Johnathan Quest, a Federal Bureau of Inquiry spokesman, reported that the FBI does not have any new information on the vulnerability, but they are investigating possible links between the Students for Immediate Neutralization of Chlorine Technology and Energy Reversion (SFINCTER) who claimed responsibility for the attack last week and Chinese environmental dissident organizations. It is possible, Quest said, that the 0-day information could have been transmitted through that link to Stasi Ehemalige, the German hacking collective that was apparently responsible for the technical aspects of the cyberattack.

Immanuel C. Securitage from ECS-CERT confirmed that that organization was continuing to coordinate with Robotron and their affected suppliers to resolve the vulnerabilities that have been identified in the Bleichen investigation. He assured reporters today that ECS-CERT was not having any problems with any of the vendors involved beyond some unexpected language issues.

William Henry Lee III, the Mayor of Delano, GA, announced today two additional deaths from chlorine exposure from last week’s attack. He was also able to announce a decline in the number of people still hospitalized from injuries related to the incident and that doctors were reportedly optimistic that there would be not more near-term deaths to report.

There are unconfirmed reports from at least one committee staffer that there are issues with the electronic lockout-tagout (eLOTO) legislation crafted by Rep. Watts (R,GA) that may interfere with its consideration at tomorrow’s hearing. Apparently, the language in the bill requiring encryption of all communications to and within the eLOTO systems included requirements for encryption backdoors to allow for law enforcement and regulatory agency reviews of the data within the systems in the event of incidents such as the Bleichen attack. This is getting embroiled in the ongoing congressional discussion about encryption backdoors and may derail quick consideration of the bill.