Hacker Tinkering With Yahoo Stories

Lifter writes "A hacker named Adrian Lamo had access for three weeks to the web-based content control system for Yahoo!'s news section, according to a story at SecurityFocus. He tinkered with a couple of stories without anyone noticing, then edited an August Reuters story about Dmitry Sklyarov, so that it said that Dmitry's program raised "the haunting specter of inner-city minorities with unrestricted access to literature, and through literature, hope." He also added a quote by John Ashcroft,"They shall not overcome. Whoever told them that the truth shall set them free was obviously and grossly unfamiliar with federal law." Funny stuff in itself, but the SecurityFocus story explores the harm that could come from a trusted news site being easily hacked in these times."

Comments

URGENT NATIONAL SECURITY BULLETIN

[Anonymous Coward]

10 ways to tell if you or someone you know may be a potential terrorist:

1. They are shy or antisocial;
2. They spend a large percentage of their free time on a computer;
3. They are quick to criticize the government or corporations, often complaining about their "rights online";
4. They are obsessed with privacy;
5. They have a tendency to play violent computer games;
6. They frequently illegally copy music, movies, or software;
7. They listen to aggressive, "alternative" music;
8. They have an aversion to going outside;
9. They like to reverse-engineer, or "hack", anything they can for no substantive reason;
10. They use software such as Linux, which is designed by and for hackers.

For the sake of national security, please report all potential terrorists to the NSA.

Re:URGENT NATIONAL SECURITY BULLETIN

[canning]

In other news 87% of Slashdot readers were taken into custody and questioned. It seems that they all fit the profile of terrorists. Who knew?

Re:URGENT NATIONAL SECURITY BULLETIN

[Anonymous Coward]

5. They have a tendency to play violent computer games;

hey - MS Flight Simulator isnt violent

How do we know?

[ichimunki]

How do we know the Security Focus story wasn't actually the hacker-planted story, and that anything happened over at Yahoo at all?

Re:How do we know?

[fobbman]

Hell, this /. submission by CmdrTaco was suspiciously missing any added comments that are usually riddled with misspellings and cheap shots at Microsoft. Has anyone checked the back doors at Andover?

Re:How do we know?

[sharkey]

According to rumor, Andover doesn't have any backdoors. They needed to sell them for their metal content, to stay solvent enough to keep /. up and, well, not really running, but limping along enthusiastically.

new laws need to be passed to prevent this

[Anonymous Coward]

...persecution. It shouldn't be illegal to hack a site if your hacks are funny. ACLU where are you now?

Flight announcement

[Anonymous Coward]

Pre Flight Announcement, 2002

"Good Afternoon, Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to Northwest Flight 571,
service to Los Angeles continuing on to San
Diego. Before we take off, we'd like to acquaint you with some of the safety
features of this Boeing 767. You know
about the emergency exits, oxygen masks, floating seat cushions, and so on,
so we will not waste time with those. Consult the cards in your seat pocket
for information on all features of our aircraft.

"Please do pay attention to the new security features.

"In the event of midair terrorism, a panel will open alongside the window
seat, containing two lightweight automatic handguns. They are fully loaded,
and extra clips are available in velcro straps. As the flight attendants are
now demonstrating, to operate the pistol, simply draw back the slide and let
it fall forward, then aim by lining up the slot in the rear site with the
front site, centered on the middle of your targets torso. Depress the
trigger repeatedly to fire. The pistol holds 10 rounds; after the last the
slide will lock back. Depress the clip release button located above the grip
on the left side, remove the clip and slide a new one into place. Please be
careful of your field of fire, and continue firing until your target goes
down.

"Your seats backs are equipped with kevlar armor, stay well down and aim
over the top or around the side.

"Your flight attendants are all armed with compact submachine guns; please
follow their lead in directing fire.

"If you feel you are unable to perform these duties, or are a conscientious
objector, please let our attentants know so
we can reseat you in the 'cowards rows' at the rear of the plane and not
bring you drinks or peanuts.

"For your safety, the aisles are equipped with electrified strips and
computer controlled antipersonnel mines. For this
reason, please remain in your seats until the captain has signalled all clear.

"Note that the area around the cockpit is cleared of seats and marked with
contrasting carpet. Under no circumstances
should you cross this barrier during flight, various automatic devices will
be activated to protect the cockpit.

"The hatch in the floor at the back of the cabin is similarly marked and
should be avoided during flight.

"Anyone creating a disturbance, caught tampering with the pistol cases or smoke detectors in the lavatories will be apprehended and ejected via the rear floor hatch.

"Thank you, and have a pleasant flight. We know you have a choice when you fly, and we thank you for choosing Northwest..."

Re:Flight announcement

[alen]

Don't forget about parachutes. Once you exit the aircraft you have the rest of your life to open it.

Re:Flight announcement

[kin_korn_karn]

Make it an option:

counter: "has anyone unknown to you...."
passenger: "no"
counter: "are you familiar with the operation of firearms?"
passenger: "what kind of firearms?"
counter: "revolvers"
passenger: "yes"
counter: "In the event of an onboard terrorist event, would you be willing to use deadly force to save the lives of your fellow passengers?"
passenger: "yes"
counter: "place your hand in this device, sir.
passenger: [places hand in countertop box that writes a smart chip that will only enable the gun for his fingerprint, and cross-links the print to FBI national fingerprint database]
counter: [puts chip in revolver. Revolver is a 6-shot .357 with frangibles and modified so that the cylinder can't be opened without a key] "here you go sir. You have 6 rounds, make them count."

Re:Maybe other sites were hacked as well?

[sharkey]

Well, I had an idea of who it could be, but then I thought, "Nah, John Katz probably wouldn't have the balls to do something this, much less the skill."

Could have been worse...

[supabeast!]

He could have changed all the links in the stories to http://www.goatse.cx !