Key Moments from June Meetup

BreachForce’s June edition bought 2 talks.

NaughtyMag: Making Macbook Blink Its Data Away
by Adhokshaj Mishra
Securing the Mind of Machines : GenAI Security & Trust Frameworks
by Harsh Tandel

Naughty Mag

Overview:

A side-channel attack that turns Apple’s MagSafe LED indicator into a data exfiltration device..
What are Side Channel Attacks? Software can control LED status using SMC to indicate color change if battery over 80%
The LED, usually meant to indicate charging status (amber/green), can be modulated to transmit data covertly

Key Concepts:

🔌 MagSafe Connection Points:

Uses its own protocol
Pinout:
- Ground
- Power
- Adapter Sense
1-wire protocol: computer ↔ cable ↔ charger (powerbrick)
All communicate with each other to negotiate power
Also lets them control which connectors are manufacture supported
Integrated Circuit DS24123: Can take command over 1-wire from Macbook and change LED status

⚠Note: The IC involved is not widely documented

How Control Works

Charger Startup:
- Charger provides very low current initially
- Why negotiation works first - then fails
- Initial creators - which created the ability to change MagSafe charger color.
  - https://apphousekitchen.com/aldente-overview/features/#control-magsafe-led
  - https://github.com/AppHouseKitchen/AlDente-Charge-Limiter
Control of the MagSafe LED is software-driven, but routed through
- The SMC (System Management Controller).
- Can be manipulated using the SMC API, which documents key
  
  values for LED control.
Attackers can:
- Use software tools or custom scripts (several emerged from
  
  GitHub issues).
- Leverage I/O Kit on macOS to interface with the hardware.

Exfiltration Method:

LED controls can be toggled with precision:
Requires:
- Precise control of on/off timing
- Understanding of data encoding methods

Encoding Challenges:

Simple binary (e.g., 0000 or 1111) can lead to ambiguity in timing- based detection.
Manchester Encoding may be needed to avoid repetition ambiguity
Morse code is a viable fallback for slower but clearer data transmission.
- Don't need rising/falling edge
- only need steady state
- New encoding to not be dependent on time

Limitations

Color masking is not feasible (LED has limited colors).
Can be detected via High-Security Monitoring (HSM).
Could be made stealthier by tuning antenna properties of the wire (convert power cable into low-range antenna).

Counter Measures

Channels require software side component
Monitor end user devices
Be aware of such potential attacks

Read Morris Mano - Digital Electronics
Why Manchester encoding can't work for discrete waves. Digital Electronics & Computer Architecture (background needed)
macOS IOKit, SMC APIs

Securing the Mind of Machines

Talk covered the evolving threat landscape around Generative AI.

The expanding attack surface of GenAI systems and MCP servers
The MITRE ATLAS threat framework for AI
OWASP Top 10 for LLMs

Key Points Discussed:

Prompt Injection
Data Poisoning & Model Leakage
Jailbreaking via DAN-style prompts
RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) manipulation

Defense Techniques:

Responsible AI and Secure AI frameworks (Google SAIF, NIST RMF)
Guardrails, Meta Prompts, DSPM
ISO standards for AI management (42001, 27563)

How red teamers can practice attacks against GenAI systems and what compliance & trust mechanisms are beginning to emerge in the field

This blog discusses the topics covered during the session.

June Meetup Highlights

Comments

Notes

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Naughty Mag

Overview:

Key Concepts:

How Control Works

Exfiltration Method:

Limitations

Counter Measures

Securing the Mind of Machines

Command Palette

Comments

Notes

Reinventing Authentication for Dummies

More from this blog

Naughty Mag

Overview:

Key Concepts:

How Control Works

Exfiltration Method:

Limitations

Counter Measures

Related Concepts:

Securing the Mind of Machines