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Googling for ATM Master Passwords

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the that-should-probably-not-be-online dept.

default DOLLAR writes to mention an eWeek article following up on the ATM reprogramming scam pulled in Virginia Beach last week. A security researcher in New York has used a YouTube video, a few Google searches, and other legal methods to discover the master passwords to thousands of ATMs across the country. From the article: "Dave Goldsmith, founder and president of penetration testing outfit Matasano Security, in New York, did not say how he obtained the operator manual--which contains master passwords and other sensitive security information about the cash-dispensing machines--but an eWEEK investigation shows that a simple Google query will return a 102-page PDF file that provides a road map to the hack."

14 of 356 comments (clear)

  1. Giddy-up! by Logiksan · · Score: 5, Funny

    *runs off to Google and YouTube as fast as his little fingers will take him*

    1. Re:Giddy-up! by dan828 · · Score: 5, Funny

      Kids these days got it easy. In my day you had to spend hours digging though dumpsters, now you just click a couple of buttons. What is the world coming to?

    2. Re:Giddy-up! by Takumi2501 · · Score: 3, Funny

      In the snow? Uphill both ways?

      --
      Sent from my computer.
      Now GET OFF MY LAWN!
  2. Trivial search - and the password is.... by rblum · · Score: 3, Funny


    12345

    Oh wait. That's my ATM PIN.

    1. Re:Trivial search - and the password is.... by 1010110010 · · Score: 5, Funny

      1 2 3 4 5? That's the combination an idiot would have on his luggage!

    2. Re:Trivial search - and the password is.... by JesseL · · Score: 4, Funny

      That's the combination to my luggage!

      --
      "Prefiero morir de pie que vivir siempre arrodillado!"
  3. Aha! by The+Grey+Clone · · Score: 4, Funny

    We've finally found that mysterious step 2!

  4. We're rich!! We're rich!!! by queenb**ch · · Score: 4, Funny

    Phhhtttt!!!

    That's to all of you who made fun of us geeks!

    *Rude Hand Gesture*

    That's for every bully who ever shoved someone into a locker during PE.

    Due to our superior ability to manipulate poorly secured cash dispensing devices, we shall now rule the world!

    First the treasury...then the military. World domination cannot be far behind.

    2 cents,

    QueenB

    --
    HDGary secures my bank :/
  5. Nine Days.... by Mr.Scamp · · Score: 5, Funny

    The machine gave $20's for $5's for NINE days after it was reprogrammed before someone commented on it. God Bless America.

  6. Re:The default password is... by jenkin+sear · · Score: 4, Funny

    I thought it was up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, Start ...

    --
    What a strange bird is the pelican, his beak can hold more than his belly can.
  7. Re:We're rich!! We're rich!!! by lomedhi · · Score: 5, Funny

    2 cents,

    Please enter a multiple of $5 or $20.

    --
    Did you say "insightful" or "inciteful"?
  8. Ready-Set -Go by Analogy+Man · · Score: 4, Funny
    However, should voting machines even come with a default password so that they can be hacked? Shouldn't reprogramming them require using some sort of physical/electronic key thats more difficult for people to get ahold of? If you can reprogram a voting machine by walking up to it and typing in any code, regardless of whether it's the default password or not, then the voting machine security is terrible. It's one thing to put a default password on a digital cable box for blocking channels, it's another matter entirely to put a default password on a voting machine.

    Which one gets fixed first!

    --
    When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.
  9. Re:No password needed.. by avenj · · Score: 4, Funny

    That may work for the Irish, but what if you're Russian?

  10. Re:The default password is... by John+Hasler · · Score: 3, Funny

    > Whoever makes these ATMs deserves all the bad publicity that they get.

    Might it be Diebold, by any chance?

    --
    Warning: this article may contain humor, sarcasm, parody, and perhaps even irony. Read at your own risk.