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Googling for ATM Master Passwords
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."
Here I was thinking that the problems with voting machines had to be intentional, since ATM's were so much better secured. Now that I find out that a keystroke combination on the interface of an ATM will bring up a GUI to reprogram the machine, protected only by a default password, I can rest assured that the world is not as shrouded in conspiracy as I feared. It's just full of very very very (very very very very very) stupid people. Now, watch as one of these aforementioned idiots elected to public office blames this on Google.
"Don't you know you're going to shock the monkey?"- Peter Gabriel
Even basic Cash registers require a key to be plugged in turned to to step into manager or some other mode. Why wouldnt those ATM-s require that the case would be open and a key sticked in to go in programming mode... Can you do a memory owerflow hack into the software ower the keyboard? >Othervise I dont understand how could you get the machine out of normal state and put it in programming mode. If it is build in the software - dude - fire the security and software development team... Thats just crazy to have a possibility like that without some harware security check...
All that's in the PDF is the default password, following a warning in BIG BOLD TYPE saying that you need to change the default password before deploying the machine. Would they put in a new combination lock on their vault and leave a combo of 1-2-3? I should hope not...
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However, should ATMs 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 an ATM by walking up to it and typing in any code, regardless of whether it's the default password or not, then the ATM 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 an ATM.
Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
Use to be we'd just wander through the cubage and when we had collected two or three "abandoned" cards from machines, we'd copy the faces of the cards. Then we'd give them to department supervisors for security violation write ups. We'd keep the copy to make sure the supervisors write them up. We suspended the accounts after two violations. If the offenders didn't have a Letter of Counciling on file in 10 working days, we had to write up the supervisors and suspend their accounts until their up-chain managers filed the right paper work to re-enable the account.
After a couple of years of irregularly spaced walk throughs of the cube farm and countless email 'reminders' about computer security we gave that up.
We got tire of being called the 'net nazis' and worse.
Now we just take the badge out of the machine and walk it down to the security desk and tell them we found the on the floor in the bathroom. If we feel bitchy we trash the card or shred them then the 'somebody else problem' effect kicks in.
But what really confuses me is WHY is there access ability from the user keypad. I mean geez. There is a back panel on all ATMS that has a keylock for adding cash and programming the machine. Putting the ability to do ANYTHING but normal user functions from the front keypad just smacks of stupidity.
But to be fair it also stated in very big bold type that this default master password should be changed. The fact the master password remains unchanged is a user error in the setup and not a design flaw.
I would say that's incorrect. It should be a trivial matter for the software to be written to REQUIRE the default password to be changed before the machine will actually give out money. Rather like having to immediately change your password when you first login to an account. It's not a difficult concept, and while this is technically a 'lack' of a feature rather than a bug, it's certainly a flaw in design, and a pretty basic one at that.
Finally, "News I Can Use"
Yes.
It's called honesty and ethics.
But if you leve your car door unlocked, and someone takes it, I'm sure you won't mind, since it was your 'fault'.
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