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Graphics Programs Uncover Secret PINs

Posted by Zonk on from the not-so-secret-then dept.

Errtu76 writes "The BBC is running a story stating that, among other programs, The Gimp and Photoshop have been identified as possible tools for uncovering PINs via the mail." From the article: "The researchers collected lots of so-called Pin mailers and then tested how secure they were. Many were defeated using bright lights shone at an angle on to the paper. Other Pins could be read by scanning the letter and then adjusting some of the image qualities in popular programs such as GIMP, Adobe Photoshop and Paintshop Pro."

2 of 363 comments (clear)

  1. This wouldn't even be an issue.... by Rinzai · · Score: 0, Offtopic
    This wouldn't even be an issue if we had Open Source PINs.

    If they weren't secret, then it wouldn't matter how they were delivered. They could even be delivered on a large banner pulled by a 1950's-era tail-dragger Piper aircraft.

    I mean, seriously, they're called (P)ersonal Identification Numbers, not (S)ecret Identification Numbers.

    I'm going over to SourceForge right now to start the project. Anyone coming with me? (If someone else drives, I call shotgun!)

  2. Trademarks are adjectives by tepples · · Score: 1, Offtopic

    Every single time there's a story about cash machines or numeric passcodes, somebody repeats this old complaint about redundancy. Thing is that these suffixed generic nouns are not completely redundant, as they help to disambiguate different meanings of a given abbreviation (for example, Automated Teller Machine vs. Asynchronous Transfer Mode). In addition, trademarks should be used as adjectives, with a suffixed generic noun. The canonical example here is "SPAM luncheon meat" even though 'M' stands for meat.