Hacking the Cable Modem: What Cable Companies Don't Want You to Know

First of all I want to object to the comment titled "How to be a Theif" This Earlier comment suggests the book should be banned, and it will get you arrested if you follow it's instructions. The truth is in most cases, there is little cost benefit to go after everyone that bends the rules as long as they are not causing a service disruption or running up too much in tarrifs (which don't exist too much these days) Of course in come cases in America and Australia a few people will get sued as a token gesture to scare the masses into submission]. It also varies on your ISP. Some ISP's (as detailed in the book) has deployed various forms of countermeasures. But on HFC networks you can almost get away with murder if you do Mac Cloning. I've worked in IT 12 years. I'm have a very analytical mind and I love to understand how things work. Is it a crime to be curious? I thought in America book burning and witch hunting finished a long time ago, and since then there has been a few constitutional amendments and a bill of rights. The latter of which not even other democracy's like Australia has. Maybe he is akin the same guy that wanted to put Phill Zimmerman in jail for allowing everyone to have secure private communications with the advent of PGP. Oh that was published in a book too. And PGP was classified as export restricted military technology at the time. It was declared a lawful act of publishing by the courts. In other words, just on the legal points he has no case to stop anyone reading this, or buying this book. Right now America and my home country (Australia) lag behind the rest of the world because inferior network infrastructure is being overcharged by telco's raking in huge profits for the better off stock owners. The customers in Australia for example under Optus get every form of capping there is (snmp metering, rate limiting, filters, strobes for services, etc) and then traffic shaping and off-site network accounting as a backup - because this book was too effective. That's right Optus had to role out more expensive switching hardware to regain control because people didn't like having equipment they own being rate limited, and remotely configured. Right now I'm in Korea where FTTH (Fibre to the Home) costs only $30 USD a month on a contract (100mbit each way). In Australia they are still mulling over getting FTTN (node street - then VDSL or Docsis 3.0 or slower broadband variants) in the many years to come. Korea's has had it for as long as I can remember. Do you really think with so much bandwidth on Korea's network they will mind if an artful network Engineer helps get a P2P video conferencing network platform of the ground in his home lab with his 10mbit uplink using a Motorola SB4100 someone threw in the trash it was so old? My project will in turn allow other users to leverage the nations' network infrastructure for on-line personal development, i.e. education. Then more Asian's can take US customer service roles with imp

This is a clear instruction manual on different kinds of modems. It is really good- and really clear - easy to follow, but doesn't go to much into any in depth topics. My friends all get really excited to borrow the book though! So if you buy it - you may have a lot of people borrowing!

Usually the modems used for high speed connections to the internet will remain the black boxes sitting on the shelf between your cable and PC or home network. Those wanting to do or know more should take a look at this book. This is a "how" as well as a "how to" book. However, for the most part, his hacks are beyond the capabilities of the average cable modem subscriber. It examines the technology employed by the cable industry as well as details for specific products. The list of cable modems presented is extensive but, because this is a static book, obviously not exhaustive as this is a list in constant flux. Still, the collection is impressive, as is the detail allotted to each. Cable modems sometimes provide a web server interface for configuration purposes. This book looks under the hood even if there is no user-configurable interface. It presents the procedures for doing this as well as tweaks and tricks that can be used to change a modem's configuration and capabilities. The book is concise and detailed. There are sections on the physical components and how to get at them without destroying the case or the components. There is probably the most lucid and short description I have read of how buffer overflows work, and there are explicit instructions on how to change speed settings and port controls. Your mileage will vary and it is possible to turn your modem into something that has the equivalent usefulness of a brick. Still, it makes the job much easier if you plan on trying to "adjust" your modem. The book is also useful as a practical example of reverse engineering. Few books attempt to do this. This book does so by example and a rather practical one at that. Developers needing to interface to other black boxes in their design may be able to take some of the tips and tricks and apply them in other circumstances. The author explicitly states that he does not condone stealing bandwidth from cable providers. He argues that system administrators need to know how to configure cable modems to effectively manage their Internet connectivity. However, possibly the most valuable contribution the author has made to the world of security is to create a manual that the cable operators and cable modem manufacturers can use to harden their devices against malicious attacks. For people interested in either application, this is a worthwhile book. The following is the table of contents: Chapter 1: A History of Cable Modem Hacking Chapter 2: The Cable Modem Showcase Chapter 3: A Faster Internet Chapter 4: The DOCSIS Standard Chapter 5: What's Inside? Chapter 6: Firmware Chapter 7: Our Limitations Chapter 8: Reverse Engineering Chapter 9: Cable Modem Security Chapter 10: Buffer Overflows Chapter 11: SIGMA Firmware Chapter 12: Hacking Frequencies Chapter 13: Useful Software Chapter 14: Gathering Information Chapter 15: The Blackcat Programmer Chapter 16: Traditional Uncapping Chapter 17: Building a Console Cable Chapter 18: Changing Firmware Chapter 1

. --- DISCLAIMER: This is a requested review by No Starch Press, however any opinions expressed within the review are my personal ones. --- [Review: long - 5-10 minutes] The book basically covers reverse engineering methods spiced with the authors smart and original ideas - and the rich experience in a niche marcet of his speciality - namely cable modems. The same technics described might be used for reverse engineering other embedded devices or software issues (f.e. mobile phones, Bluetooth devices etc. ) The book has a unique combination of a certain "geek" factor combined with high grade engineering skills. The geeky part of the book is showing many original and cool hacks that enable even non technical users to use them. The engineering part of the book is deploying several reverse engineering technics which can also be applied to other devices and technologies. To make the most usage of the book you would ideally have some knowledge of the following: - general electrical engineering skills - programming / debugging skills - a good understanding of firmware related issues - some basic Assembler knowledge Obviously the readers mileage may vary, depending on the readers skillset and amount of time invested. You shouldnt expect to become a hacker over night, however this could be your entry ticket to see, touch and "feel" the many facets of reverse engineering. What is it about the book that makes it stand out ? (This books features) - The book itself is a nice wholesighted introduction in reverse engineering - Each chapter is like an overview style tutorial on how to deploy your hardware/software - Instructions / methods learned are transferable to other embedded devices - Description of many original (unique) approaches including for - How to change/tweak/ennhance firmware (general) - How to create and use a Blackcat cable to programm your new firmware - How to create a console cable - Firmware versions and their features and memory addresses - Firmware backdoors - Hidden functions and Menus and how to activate them - How to use a cable modems bootloader - Extracting symbol tables for debugging - Cross compiling - Buffer overflows, - ARP poisening - SNMP in General - List of most useful MIBs - Evaluations of modem hardware in regard to their enhancebility ;-) - Securing your network and modems - WEB GUI's and finally - 5 pages of firmware commands and their descriptions !! This book might be interesting for: (Target readers) - Geeks - Geeks friends (to get his/her attention ;-) - IT newcomers - IT managers - IT Security specialists / penetrations testers - Developers - Network admins - Cable providers - ISP - Companies selling and/or maintaining embedded devices Summary: The book is written in a very motivating - as good as it gets - style so that once you start reading, chances are that you dont put it down before you read it cover to cover. The many insider information was until now - if at all - only available in

I find this a wonderful book, even tho I myself don't have a cable modem (I'm on DSL). The techniques which the author so carefully details are useful in any kind of embedded device hacking, for example, in trying to replace a manufacturer's firmware on one's wireless router. Why? Most consumer embedded devices are in essence computers configured for a single purpose, e.g. a print server. Sometimes the device's usefulness can be extended, for example to allow it to service two printers instead of just one as the manufacturer decided. In other words this kind of knowledge if good for people who want to get the most out of the gadgets they own. So, here is the needed knowledge. Enjoy reading the book and thanks to the author for digging all this stuff out and then presenting it so clearly to the reader.