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Internet Chess Club Security Defeated

Posted by timothy on from the global-thermonuclear-war dept.

Scott_F writes "Researchers at the University of Colorado at Boulder have been able to defeat the security mechanisms of the Internet Chess Club and can effectively play a zero-time match, as well as have complete control over the game. The paper is titled How to Cheat at Chess: A Security Analysis of the Internet Chess Club. If you're not familiar with the ICC, it is where many Grandmasters play regularly, with rumors of Bobby Fischer making an occasional appearance. It appears that the ICC has relied on security through obscurity, but we all know how poorly that works. Chess, anyone?" Update: 09/08 21:08 GMT by J : In totally unrelated chess news, I found today's commentary on Zermelo's Theorem interesting, both for the math of the game and the look at a mistaken echo chamber.

28 of 264 comments (clear)

  1. Greetings Dr. Falken by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Shall we play a game?

  2. Obviously by rf0 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Check Mate in 1 then..

    Rus

    --
    Cheap UK and US VPS
    1. Re:Obviously by Zork+the+Almighty · · Score: 4, Funny

      PAwned!

      --

      In Soviet America the banks rob you!
  3. Pawn to Kings King 1 by ravenspear · · Score: 2, Funny

    Checkmate.

    Doh! No Fair!

  4. Summary of story by ricotest · · Score: 5, Funny

    Chess club relies on security through obscurity; got cracked. Therefore security through obscurity sucks and its polar opposite, open source security, rules. Therefore open source rules. Therefore Linux rules. Therefore Microsoft sucks. Apple, we don't yet have an established opinion on.

    1. Re:Summary of story by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny
      Chess club relies on security through obscurity

      First rule of chess club: Do NOT talk about chess club!
    2. Re:Summary of story by kfg · · Score: 2, Funny

      The story was covered in slashdot, but I can't find a link.

      See how well they hide?

      KFG

    3. Re:Summary of story by kfg · · Score: 2, Funny

      Apple, we don't yet have an established opinion on.

      Ooooooooooooooo, Shiny!

      KFG

  5. Are the alternatives safer? by GMFTatsujin · · Score: 2, Funny

    I'm always up for a nice game of global thermonuclear war...

  6. cheat at chess?? by spoonyfork · · Score: 4, Funny

    Cheating at chess online?? Like how, an aimbot or something? It isn't like the other player isn't going to notice when your Queen bunnyhops across the board and headshots 4 pawns in a row without missing. Feh.

    --
    Speak truth to power.
    1. Re:cheat at chess?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny
      No, you silly person, it's not an aimbot.

      You know the wise saying, "In the game of chess, you can never let your opponent see all your pieces"? Well, that's what this hack does: it lets a player see the whole board, including the enemy side.

      You know that exciting feeling you get, when your rook rushes across the board and takes an exposed bishop that stuck it's nose out of the obscured black area .. and you don't know yet, whether the square you just moved into, is exposed to fire from an enemy piece? Well, now that excitement is gone. Now you can move across the board and know exactly what you're getting into. If an enemy moves his knight to cover some pawns, you see it and in real time!

      Totally takes the fun out of chess.

    2. Re:cheat at chess?? by Mr.+Bad+Example · · Score: 4, Funny

      That'd sure make chess more...interesting.

      White: (castles)

      Black: OMG WTF CAMPING L5M3R N00B

  7. Ob. Red Dwarf reference by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    HOLLY: Prawn takes Horsie.
    QUEEG: Bishop-Pawn takes Pawn.
    HOLLY: Bish takes Prawn.
    QUEEG: Bishop to Knight Five. Double Check and Mate, sucker!
    HOLLY: Oh yeah, I didn't see that...
    LISTER: Holly, man, what have you done!?
    RIMMER: He's lost.
    QUEEG: And the loser gets erased.
    HOLLY: Noughts and Crosses?

    1. Re:Ob. Red Dwarf reference by jayhawk88 · · Score: 4, Funny

      And here I thought British humor was dry and impenetrable...

  8. Ah ha! by jszep · · Score: 2, Funny

    That's how Deep Blue won...

  9. Re:Security through obscurity.. by Mateito · · Score: 4, Funny
    Security through obscurity is not as bad as its reputation.

    That's why I post to /. as AC.

    --
    Norman Cook's Ode to Sl
  10. Ha! by CGP314 · · Score: 4, Funny

    At long last we have proof that Go is better than Chess. Nobody compromised their server : )

  11. Can't believe it by Nick+of+NSTime · · Score: 5, Funny

    Wait, an online chess club doesn't have a good defence? Their server has an opening? The whole web site is one big gambit?

  12. No HTML version. :( by caluml · · Score: 2, Funny

    Why no HTML version? Grrr.

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  13. Adds a whole new meaning... by Mateito · · Score: 2, Funny

    This adds a whole new meaning to

    "y3r p4wn i5 0wn3d!!!"

    --
    Norman Cook's Ode to Sl
    1. Re:Adds a whole new meaning... by Skidge · · Score: 2, Funny

      "y3r p4wn i5 0wn3d!!!"

      y3r p4wn i5 pwn3d.

  14. Security Rule # 1 by UrgleHoth · · Score: 5, Funny

    The first rule of Chess Club is - you do not talk about Chess Club.

    --

    Dogma - "let's just say we'd like to avoid any empirical entanglements."
  15. Hmm by Dirtside · · Score: 2, Funny

    Looks like the only winning move is not to play.

    --
    "Destroy science and religion. Science would re-emerge exactly the same; but not religion." - Penn Jillette, paraphrased
  16. Re:Bobby Fischer in the ICC ? by poot_rootbeer · · Score: 5, Funny

    he don't play chess anymore, only 'FisherRandom', special chess with altered rules he invented. Basically, you shuffle backrank pieces identically for both players

    And why doesn't he shuffle the front pieces, too? That would make it even more interesting.

    (I know only just enough about chess to make this post.)

  17. Busted. by pokeyburro · · Score: 4, Funny

    Looks like you gave yourself away there. Now we know Anonymous Coward is really Mateito (746185).

    --
    Lately democracy seems to be based on the skybox, the Happy Meal box, the X-box, and the idiot box.
  18. Visual pun at the end of Aliens... by vudufixit · · Score: 2, Funny

    "Queen takes Bishop"

  19. hey! by Zilfondel2 · · Score: 2, Funny

    You insensitive clod!

    I'll...uh...challenge you to a game of chess for such an insult!

  20. The First Rule of Internet Chess Club is... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Never admit to being a member of Internet Chess Club.

    The second rule of internet chess club is...

    Never admit to being a member of Internet Chess Club.