Hacking Hotels 101

romka1 writes "Wired has an interesting interview with Adam Laurie, chief security officer of the London security and networking firm ALD. Laurie was able, using laptop, tv tuner and an infrared port to access premium content, billing information of all the rooms in the hotel, watch how other guests access their emails and access desktop of a backend computer clicking icons on the desktop and launching applications."

Comments

Why?

[turtled]

Why is it okay for "agencies" to go and find vulnerabilities in public networks, but as soon as a high school student finds a hole, tells someone, then no onw does anything, he has to exploit it to get noticed, then charged with some stupid "hacker crime"?

Re:Why?

[Kiaser Wilhelm II]

Who said he had permission? When did he get permission to spy on other people's private information from those people?

Re:Why?

[Grey Ninja]

The man was just looking to get FREE PORN! Didn't you read TFA?

Re:Why?

[Anonymous Coward]

Why do ivy leauge schools teach Machiavelli instead of a warmed over highschool civics class?

It all boils down to getting away with what you can because you inherently have more power. There is no inherent "morality" involved in any given legal system or government. Anyone over the age of 7 should be able to recognise this on a daily basis.

Besides, it's important to have a fake set of rules for individulas to follow and conform to... otherwise we'd all be living in a perminent state of chaos. Just imagine millions of gun owning people behaving the way nation states do!

OFF TOPIC: /. Poll Locked

[h4rm0ny]

Well where else can you put a comment about comments being blocked?

Anyone explain why the # DVD's ripped poll has been locked?

Anyway, /. discussion normally stems from the first four or five posts, so this question will sink down to the bottom with time anyway.

-H.

Because,

[Sr. Pato]

To be brutally honest, High School kids have no credibility and are easier to push-around and use as scape-goats. When an agency tells you your network is insecure, it's the companies fault for not being secure enough. When a kid does it, the network was secure, but this 'genius hacker' happen to break it. It works wonders with the media. Good damage control.

Re:My own experience

[hixie]

Yeah, I'm guessing they just had everyone on a hub. (Even if they used a switch, though, you could still get to see this stuff using ARP floods to redirect the traffic through your machine.)

Re:ya

[ColaMan]

but have they gotten in the backdoor?

That's the difference :-)

Re:"screenshots" of internet access being *BROADCA

[zakezuke]

I'm willing to bet that all of these channels are using standard cable frequencies (most which fall in
the broadcast TV UHF range, albiet with different frequencies), which can be picked up with a cheap $15 B&W portable TV with a slide tuner.
    Are they really too cheap to just use a regular network and WEB-TV-like units in the rooms?

Hmmm... those cable channels fall into the high VHF range. There are some channels used between 6 and 7 , but I can't remember off the top of my head. I.e. cable channel 14 is the same distance from TV 13 is from TV 12, but UHF 14 IIRC VHF 13 is 210-216Mhz CATV is 14(sic) 216-222Mhz (also used in marine radio) and UHF 14 is 470-476Mhz... I stand corrected... channel 13 + 6mhz = catv 23 there and about. My memory is fuzzy as those first generation digital dial but manual analog tuners allowed you to access a slew stuff before cable ready TVs were popular. You do have CATV channels 95-99 91.25-119.775mhz smack dab between channels 6 and 7.. which just so happen to be used by FM radio, which would explain why sometimes you could get the playboy channel on your radio.

But that's not the point, or rather the whole frequency spectrium being totally screwy isn't the point. Why I bothered with that whole paragraph when you were talking about those cheep slide tuner TVs that can access all sorts of weird stuff is beyond me.

The point is this... Yes, they really are too cheap. Wouldn't you be? Why go with any sort of encryption on a system which for the most part is protected by physical security... lock and key. Got a key, your spending money. If you spend more money to watch a movie, hotel makes a buck, the provide makes bucks, everyone is happy. Cable feed, monitors broadcast via radio waves from a centralized location in a room without windows deep in employee only zone. If some jack ass steals a TV... well they lost a $800 TV. If some jackass steals a 22 inch network termianl... well they just lost something worth a few grand. Not to speak of support issues, damage, power surges.

While *i'd* prefer the webTv experence, point and click movies without issues of analog signal degrading by the rats in the walls... I respect the fact that traditional TV from a centeralized broadcast location is really the way to go. Hell even for a net terminal i'd still go with a dumb monitor with keyboard relay.