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DEF CON analysis takes intention at ZTNA, calls it a bust



Main vendor vulnerabilities span authentication and design flaws

The analysis uncovered vital vulnerabilities throughout Examine Level, Zscaler and Netskope that fell into three main classes: authentication bypasses, credential storage failures and cross-tenant exploitation.

Authentication bypass vulnerabilities

Zscaler’s SAML implementation contained essentially the most extreme authentication flaw. The researchers found that the signature on the SAML assertion was solely checked for presence, and it wasn’t validated towards the identification supplier’s public key. This allowed full bypass of identification supplier authentication by forging SAML responses with invalid signatures.

Netskope suffered from an analogous however extra elementary bypass. The enrollment API required no authentication, permitting attackers to register units utilizing solely leaked group keys and legitimate e mail addresses. 

Examine Level’s vulnerability centered on hard-coded encryption keys embedded in shopper binaries. These keys protected diagnostic log uploads containing JSON Internet Tokens (JWTs) that lived for 30 days creating a possible compromise situation for any buyer who had uploaded logs to assist.

Credential storage and token administration flaws

All three distributors applied weak credential storage mechanisms. Zscaler saved Machine Token Authentication credentials in Home windows registry in clear textual content, permitting native attackers to extract tokens and impersonate any consumer by modifying registry values. Netskope’s “Safe Enrollment” tokens used DPAPI encryption with inadequate safety.

Vendor response and remediation

Vendor responses diverse considerably in pace and effectiveness. In keeping with the researchers, Zscaler responded most quickly, initially patching their SAML vulnerability (CVE-2025-54982) inside 4 hours. Nonetheless, the repair launched compatibility points requiring a rollback earlier than a everlasting answer was applied.

Safety Holes That May Compromise Your Cellular Gadget


Rooting and jailbreaking frameworks are continually evolving, usually maintained by unbiased builders with out formal safety oversight. In consequence, they incessantly introduce unpredictable dangers that pose a severe and ongoing menace to enterprise safety by enabling malware infections, app compromise, and even full system takeovers.

My 4 Go-To Instruments for Wi-Fi Troubleshooting


Wi-Fi issues are a few of the trickiest to troubleshoot. Having the proper instrument for the job issues when connectivity is fickle and fleeting. After spending just a few years consulting and troubleshooting for wi-fi, I’ve discovered these 4 instruments to be priceless in my Wi-Fi equipment.

WLAN Pi M4+

The WLAN Pi M4+ instrument is the Swiss Military knife for Wi-Fi troubleshooting. It consists of a prebuilt Raspberry Pi field with a wi-fi card and adjustable modules. Updates are achieved by the neighborhood, for the neighborhood. It has varied preloaded functions, akin to Kismet, a shopper profiler and Grafana.

My favourite manner to make use of WLAN Pi M4+ is for distant captures. The instrument makes use of Energy over Ethernet, so you’ll be able to both plug it right into a PoE-capable port on a swap or an influence injector. The M4+ model additionally has the choice to energy by way of USB-C. From there, you need to use Wireshark, Airtool or the Linux terminal to seize frames.

If these aren’t sufficient options, WLAN Pi M4+ features a hotspot mode to spin up an AP and a server mode for companies akin to Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol. Among the many Grafana profiles, the instrument has a Wi-Fi scanner, web monitoring and WLAN Pi well being dashboards with the choice for customized dashboards. A WLAN Pi GitBook is obtainable right here for all of your troubleshooting adventures.

Associated:Keep away from Challenges when Planning for Wi-Fi 7

For Wi-Fi 7 use, the M4+ choice comes with an Intel BE200 card put in, however you may get the Wi-Fi 6 M4 choice too. It is also attainable to customise and construct your individual model. One particular person, Mark Houtz, even made a CBRS-capable model.

Airtool 2

As a result of I discussed Airtool, I ought to present what this utility does and why you must use it. Made by Intuitibits, the corporate that introduced us WiFi Explorer, the Airtool utility enormously simplifies the wi-fi body seize course of for Mac units.

Whereas the appliance appears small, it lets me skip the next steps:

  • Opening up Wi-fi Diagnostics.

  • Clicking to run the seize.

  • Transferring the seize out of my Mac’s momentary listing.

  • Opening up the seize in Wireshark.

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A further function lets you join an iPhone and different sources for wi-fi captures. You’ll be able to even use Airtool with WLAN Pi to take distant captures simply. No have to click on the up arrow continuously to seek out your earlier terminal instructions. In the event you’re bored with Wi-Fi, it additionally allows you to take Zigbee and Bluetooth captures with the suitable seize units.

Ubiquiti WiFiman

What if you do not have your laptop computer and nonetheless have to troubleshoot shortly? Many Wi-Fi scanning apps can be found within the app shops, however Ubiquiti WiFiman stands out. It is compact and has extra perks, akin to exhibiting latency for particular functions or the entire community topology.

I like this app for shortly familiarizing myself with the ISP and upstream units current. In the event you hook up with an SSID, it exhibits a dwell feed of RSSI measurements over time. It will probably additionally run a velocity check for Wi-Fi or mobile connections after which present the roaming exercise between them.

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A WiFiman Wizard unlocks a further Wi-Fi scan function, however the free app gives worth nonetheless. As a substitute of getting the Wizard, I recommend getting the following instrument and pairing it with a wi-fi card.

WiFi Explorer Professional 3

Are you severe about troubleshooting? WiFi Explorer Professional 3 is the appliance for you. Much like Airtool, this instrument feels smooth and straightforward to make use of. In distinction, WiFi Explorer permits customers to see all lively Wi-Fi networks directly in a spectrum-oriented view. What differentiates this instrument is the thoughtfulness put into the consumer expertise.

For instance, the Superior Particulars panel exhibits data given by 802.11 body tags in a simplified format. That is helpful for verifying safety suites utilized by SSIDs or if 802.11k, 802.11r or 802.11w are in use.

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When RF interference arises, the instrument permits customers to attach a spectrum analyzer that then shows a waterfall or FFT view. WiFi Explorer Professional additionally helps distant captures like Airtool. Whereas Intuitibits initially constructed the appliance for Mac, a Home windows model is now out there.

Conclusion

These are my must-have instruments for Wi-Fi troubleshooting. They’re light-weight, straightforward to make use of and feature-rich. I hope it helps anybody who finds themselves misplaced whereas troubleshooting Wi-Fi.



Natural molecules assist soil retailer water even in desertlike circumstances


Natural molecules assist soil retailer water even in desertlike circumstances

by Clarence Oxford

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Aug 13, 2025






Northwestern College researchers have recognized the nanoscale processes that enable natural matter to reinforce soil’s skill to carry water, even in extraordinarily arid environments.



The group discovered that carbohydrates from crops and microbes act like molecular glue, forming sticky bridges between natural compounds and soil minerals that entice water. These bridges depend on hydrogen bonds, which join water molecules to each clay minerals and carbohydrates, locking in moisture that will in any other case evaporate.



Led by civil and environmental engineering affiliate professor Ludmilla Aristilde, the researchers found that advanced carbohydrate polymers might enhance the power of clay’s water-binding skill as much as fivefold. Even at excessive temperatures, water held in these clay-carbohydrate networks was much less more likely to evaporate and extra more likely to stay in nanopores.



In experiments utilizing smectite clay and three carbohydrate varieties – glucose, amylose and amylopectin – the group noticed that advanced branched carbohydrates additionally prevented clay nanopores from collapsing throughout drying. This structural help helped preserve moisture retention, providing potential methods to engineer soils as long-term water reservoirs.



The findings might also make clear how water can stay trapped in extraterrestrial supplies, comparable to Martian rocks and meteorites, the place comparable organic-mineral-water interactions might happen.



Analysis Report:Mechanisms of water retention at carbohydrate-clay interfaces


Associated Hyperlinks

McCormick College of Engineering

Farming Right this moment – Suppliers and Know-how



The Community Intelligence Blueprint


In my earlier article in regards to the third period of networking, I made the case that in case your community is a strategic asset, you must develop DevOps-style community automation practices. However the place do you start this journey of technological transformation? With documentation, the important basis that reduces enterprise danger, accelerates innovation and drives digital transformation.

The Strategic Worth of Community Documentation

Community documentation is not merely technical hygiene — it is a enterprise crucial. Documented networks straight have an effect on your group’s capability to keep up safety posture, guarantee compliance and reply quickly to each threats and alternatives. When documentation is insufficient — as I discover in almost each consumer atmosphere — you are accepting pointless enterprise danger and limiting your agility.

Conventional community engineering tradition prioritizes configuration over documentation, with documenting adjustments merely an afterthought. This mindset essentially shifts with automation; documentation turns into the motive force of configuration reasonably than its byproduct. This inversion represents one of the important challenges within the transformation to third-era networking, however it additionally delivers a few of the biggest returns.

Associated:The Lacking Hyperlink: Clever Community Requirements

Merely put: You can’t successfully automate what you do not perceive, and you’ll’t totally perceive what you have not documented.

Important Documentation Elements

To construct your community automation basis, you want complete documentation in 4 key areas.

1. Machine stock

Your stock ought to seize primary community info, corresponding to hostnames, IP addresses, make/mannequin, location and entry strategies. It must also be enriched with the next:

  • Lifecycle info, corresponding to buy date, guarantee standing and end-of-life dates.

  • Compliance and safety standing, corresponding to patch ranges and vulnerabilities.

  • Software program and licensing particulars.

Implement categorization and tagging capabilities to rework a primary system checklist right into a strategic supply of fact that informs choices about upkeep, upgrades and useful resource allocation.

2. Community topology

Doc how units join at a number of ranges:

  • Bodily connectivity, corresponding to cables, ports, interfaces and optical/DWDM programs.

  • Layer 2/Ethernet connectivity, corresponding to digital LANs, switching domains and loop prevention.

  • Layer 3/IP connectivity, corresponding to routing domains, subnets, gateways and protocols.

Use constant visualization requirements with acceptable symbols and colours, sustaining clear separation between diagram sorts. Take into account your viewers when creating diagrams — engineers troubleshooting an outage want completely different particulars than executives reviewing infrastructure. Implement model management to trace topology adjustments over time.

Associated:The Clever Community Mandate

3. Machine configurations

Keep information of the next:

This documentation turns into essential throughout outages, safety incidents and compliance audits, to not point out automation.

4. Community and repair designs

Doc each present state and future design intentions. As you mature your automation practices, design documentation allows extra refined approaches like design-driven automation the place adjustments are derived from — and validated towards — documented designs reasonably than advert hoc configurations.

The Automation Acceleration Impact

Whereas documentation allows automation, automation dramatically improves documentation, making a cycle of accelerating effectivity and high quality.

Instruments like NetBox, Nautobot and InfraHub present highly effective community supply of fact choices. These knowledge shops particular for community info combine with discovery instruments from distributors corresponding to Auvik, Ahead Networks, Gluware, IP Material, Kentik, Itential, NetBrain, ServiceNow, Slurp’it and Stardust Methods, to call only a few. Essentially the most superior discovery instruments can do the next:

  • Deploy distributed discovery brokers throughout complicated environments.

  • Detect drift between documented and precise configurations.

  • Course of and validate collected knowledge by means of transformation pipelines.

  • Generate visualizations straight out of your knowledge shops.

Implementation Strategy

The trail to documentation maturity requires a realistic strategy, corresponding to the next:

  1. Concentrate on vital programs first. Doc what issues most to the enterprise.

  2. Implement clear processes. Keep documentation as adjustments happen.

  3. Automate from the start. Use instruments instantly for discovery and documentation. Free and open supply software program instruments, corresponding to Nmap, are an ideal place to start out.

  4. Combine with present programs. Join documentation to service administration, asset administration and compliance programs.

  5. Measure progress. Observe key metrics corresponding to documentation protection, accuracy and freshness.

Documentation initiatives typically fail as a result of they lack government sponsorship, rely too closely on guide processes or do not set up clear possession. Handle these issues proactively to make sure success.

Enterprise Impression

The funding in community documentation delivers tangible enterprise advantages, together with the next:

  • Decreased operational danger. Minimized outages and quicker incident response.

  • Enhanced safety posture. Improved vulnerability administration and coverage enforcement.

  • Larger operational effectivity. Decreased effort for adjustments and troubleshooting.

  • Accelerated innovation. Sooner deployment of recent providers and applied sciences.

  • Improved compliance. Audit-ready documentation of configurations and adjustments.

All of that’s earlier than we contemplate any potential advantages of community automation, which might now be constructed upon this basis of reliable documentation.

Subsequent Steps

Consider your present community documentation maturity, determine gaps and implement automation instruments to start constructing your foundational sources of fact — additionally referred to as programs of report and, extra typically, knowledge shops. Focus first on vital infrastructure to ship speedy worth whereas establishing the processes and instruments that may help your broader automation journey.

Bear in mind: You possibly can’t automate what you do not perceive, and you’ll’t perceive what you have not documented. Begin documenting at present, and you will take the primary vital step towards improved community administration and simpler community operations.