Tech geeks couldn’t miss this very useful little accessory from Google, the Chromecast. No bigger than a USB key, this streaming media player streaming multimedia content from a computer or mobile device (smartphone or tablet) Connect to a TV with an HDMI port. It’s a very simple device in theory and one that could prove extremely interesting, especially for those who want to use their TV as a second screen.
In practice, however, this system is still in its infancy, and while as a whole it is very effective for those who have tested it, it still suffers from some flaws that we found the first and not the least: fragility. What specifically allows Chromecast to launch Gameboy games on a television.
This means that once you’re a little resourceful, it’s actually possible to hack a Chromecast stream without too much effort. The simplicity of the system developed by Google. Thus, a hacker can easily find his way and play a TV as long as he is within the broadcast radius of the relevant WiFi area.
Dan Petro, a security analyst, devised the following to prove his theory:Rickmote, a box that can detect all Chromecast players aroundIn the eighties, Rick Astley’s tube became the standard-bearer of trolls and rick-roll all over the world.
The work of this Rickmote can be explained in four steps:
- WiFi standard, a death warrant (DeAuthentication) built-in allows to force a device to leave the network and reconnect.
- For some special reason, this command is sent to a device without encryption, which means that even objects that shouldn’t be on the network can connect to it. A common trick for hackers regarding WiFi devices.
- However, Chromecast responds to this “deauth” command by returning to setup mode.
- Mounted on a nanocomputer like a Raspberry Pi, Rickmote finds the Chromecast’s network and populates it with “deauth” commands to force it to connect to its network. It can then distribute its content as it wishes.
The worst thing about this move is that getting into a Chromecast network is much easier than going back to normal. And the mistake will only be definitely not going to be fixed anytime soon because it leverages what makes the heart and future success of Chromecast: its accessibility to the general public.
Such a hacking method, anyway, is not the biggest danger you run from because of the person who hacked you. should be relatively close to you to connect to the network. But it can be very useful if you want to trap someone in front of their TV and drive them crazy.
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