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Mac OS X Security Competition Ends in 30 Minutes

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the how-secure-is-secure dept.

ninja_assault_kitten writes "ZDnet is running an article on how a Swedish Mac OS X enthusiast held a competition to prove how good security was on his new fully patched Mac Mini was. Unfortunately, 30 minutes after the competition began, a hacker known as 'gwerdna' had broken in and defaced the website, thus winning the contest. According to gwerdna, 'Mac OS X is easy pickings for bug finders. That said, it doesn't have the market share to really interest most serious bug finders.'." It's also worth noting a piece that says all the security news is much ado about nothing, in practical terms. The security contest also allowed people to have local access via SSH, so that had a lot to do with the crack.

7 of 388 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Mac OS X Security Challenge by Bromskloss · · Score: 5, Funny

    So, test.doit.wisc.edu is some guy you're having a war against, and now you want him to have an.. umm... unfortunate accident with his computer, right? With our help, sneaky. ;-) Mabye by the slashdotting alone. Welcome to the wild web.

    --
    Swedish plasma phys. PhD student; MSc EE; knows maths, programming, electronics; finance interest; seeks opportunities
  2. Re:Why keep SSH on? by shotfeel · · Score: 3, Funny

    In other news, after giving burglers the first three of four numbers for your safe's combination, the fastest can open it in less than 30 minutes.

  3. Re:Why keep SSH on? by BodhiCat · · Score: 3, Funny

    The article also failed to mention that the password to gain root access to the Mac was "password."

  4. RDF defeats all by Brunellus · · Score: 4, Funny

    I have a feeling that the Reality Distortion Field has already cancelled whatever negative effect this has had

  5. Doors unlocked, windows open by Dekortage · · Score: 5, Funny

    So SSH was on and accessible? Dumb move. Like saying "I dare you to steal my jewelry from my bedroom -- oh, and my house is unlocked with the windows open."

    But maybe people WANT something to be stolen. Many years ago, the garbagemen (sanitation workers) in NYC went on strike, and garbage was piling up in the streets. A relative of mine in Brooklyn still managed to get rid of his: he put it in big boxes, wrapped the boxes in gift paper with bows, and left them in his car with the doors unlocked. They always got stolen.

    How this applies to the story, I dunno, but I still think it's funny.

    --
    $nice = $webHosting + $domainNames + $sslCerts
  6. Kodos is not yours to give... by bennomatic · · Score: 4, Funny
    > I do give them kodos for allowing the hack...

    Kang might have something to say about that.

    --
    The CB App. What's your 20?
  7. Re:Why keep SSH on? by Ohreally_factor · · Score: 3, Funny

    The guy gives out SSH accounts. There was no need to penetrate this layer of security, because he left the door wide open.

    So, to use the most disgusting analogy possible, it was like raping the goatse guy.

    Heh heh, I said analogy.

    --
    It's not offtopic, dumbass. It's orthogonal.