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The Study of Physical Hacks at DefCon

Posted by Zonk on from the old-ways-are-the-best-ways dept.

eldavojohn writes "DefCon usually focuses on electronic security, but Saturday a talk was held that focused on possibly the oldest form of hacking — lockpicking. As software security becomes better and better, the focus may be shifting towards simple hacking tips like looking over someone's shoulder for their password, faking employment or just picking the locks to gain access to the building where machines are left on overnight. From the article: 'Medeco deadbolt locks relied on worldwide at embassies, banks and other tempting targets for thieves, spies or terrorists can be opened in seconds with a strip of metal and a thin screw driver, Marc Tobias of Security.org demonstrated for AFP ... Tobias says he refuses to publish details of 'defeating' the locks because they are used in places ranging from homes, banks and jewelers to the White House and the Pentagon. He asked AFP not to disclose how it is done.' I'm sure all Slashdot readers are savvy enough to use firewall(s) but do you know and trust what locks 'physically' protect your data from hacks like these?"

8 of 299 comments (clear)

  1. Backstop that lock... by swb · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ...with a Smith & Wesson (or a Glock, or a Bushmaster, or a Remington).

    1. Re:Backstop that lock... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      That argument has been discredited by several studies.

      Just look at how they derive those numbers...they categorize "loved ones" and "family members" and anyone you have ever met.

      If you want the real, peer reviewed scientific analysis on guns in the hands on citizens, just check out the writings of John Lott.

    2. Re:Backstop that lock... by couchslug · · Score: 5, Insightful

      "Which is right and proper since in most Western countries the state doesn't demand the death penalty for burglary."

      You mistake shooting a "burglar" for penalizing said burglar instead of SELF-defense. Defending yourself is not to be confused with lynching.
      A "burglar" (intruder) is a huge risk to the occupant of a house because the intruder has incentive to kill the householder to shut him/her up, and sometimes does.
      Crimes of opportunity in a home invasion include rape, torture, arson to cover up the evidence etc.
      Intruders are not typically like Roger Moore in "The Saint".

      If you don't want to defend yourself, it is your right not to. To say that I cannot defend myself is to say that I don't matter, and those who would violate me do. I respectfully disagree.
      Even in Iraq, the US allows householders one firearm. This is because police response is reactive, not preemptive. All the cops can usually do is collect evidence and maybe arrest the perp for whatever he/she did. This neither does not reverse or prevent damage to the victim.

      When I was TDY to Saudi Arabia, some crackheads decided to party on my property. My wife asked them to leave. They told her to fsck off and made threatening statements. (We lived in an area with light police protection and long response times.) She retreated to the house, got our our Mini-14, and put several warning shots into the ground (not towards the crackheads) where the bullets could be retrieved if required. They promptly left and never returned for the remaining three years we lived there. When the police finally responded, the officer was fine with it. (I love the South!

      The right to violent self-defense is essential to freedom, because if you are forbidden to defend yourself anyone can do their will to you.

      --
      "This post is an artistic work of fiction and falsehood. Only a fool would take anything posted here as fact."
    3. Re:Backstop that lock... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      100% of unarmed people are unable to repel boarders with arms Make that 99.9%, you forgot Chuck Norris.
  2. Protection by SaidinUnleashed · · Score: 5, Funny

    >>do you know and trust what locks 'physically' protect your data from hacks like these?"

    I know I weld my doors shut nightly. You should too!

    --
    Shiny. Let's be bad guys.
  3. "Hacking" by Arthur+Grumbine · · Score: 5, Informative
    From TFS,

    "...simple hacking tips like looking over someone's shoulder for their password."

    How far the meaning of this word has come from it's original usage.

    --
    Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure everything I just said is completely wrong.
  4. Locks are pretty much useless by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Because doors are riddled with 0-day exploits in the frames and hinges. With even a small vehicle, you can exploit a stack-overflow in the frame, popping the entire door out. DOS attacks against hinge pins can also be used to completely bypass a lock.

  5. anecdotal by zogger · · Score: 5, Interesting

    One summer I was forced to park right in the same neighborhood as crack houses, etc, because of where I had to work. As did my co workers. They all locked their doors and trunks, result, all of them got busted glass and popped trunks. I warned them too, I really did, I said "look at reality, these cars are targets now". Nope, none of them listened. I left my doors unlocked and the trunk slightly open, just eased down. The ride was so old and ratty I wasn't afraid of it getting stolen, albeit that was a chance. There was nothing left in the car to steal, a very cheap in dash radio not even worth a dollar at a pawn shop, but I made it easy for the crooks to ascertain that, because I knew they would look.

    Ya, it sucked doing that,the principle rankled me, but my practical nature took over, because it was better than having to replace a door window.

    Most modern stick frame construction houses are vulnerable to a razor knife. Just pick a section of wall and slice a hole. You got plastic siding, a thin tyvek sheet, some cheap ass pressboard stuff,(glorified cardboard really), some spun fiberglass insulation, then drywall. That's all you need, a couple minutes with a razor knife and any thief can get in easy, let alone if they use something like a cordless sawzall thing.