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Convicted VoIP Hacker Robert Moore Speaks

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the kind-of-thing-an-idiot-would-have-on-his-luggage dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Convicted hacker Robert Moore, who will report to federal prison this week, gives his version of 'How I Did It' to InformationWeek. Breaking into 15 telecom companies and hundreds of corporations was so easy because most routers are configured with default passwords. "It's so easy a caveman can do it," Moore said. He scanned more than 6 million computers just between June and October of 2005, running 6 million scans on AT&T's network alone. 'You would not believe the number of routers that had "admin" or "Cisco0" as passwords on them,' Moore said. 'We could get full access to a Cisco box with enabled access so you can do whatever you want to the box. We also targeted Mera, a Web-based switch. It turns any computer basically into a switch so you could do the calls through it. We found the default password for it. We would take that and I'd write a scanner for Mera boxes and we'd run the password against it to try to log in, and basically we could get in almost every time. Then we'd have all sorts of information, basically the whole database, right at our fingertips.'"

8 of 183 comments (clear)

  1. Geico commercial filming by camperdave · · Score: 3, Funny

    It's so easy a caveman can do it

    So, not only do cavemen work in video production, they do network admin?

    --
    When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
    1. Re:Geico commercial filming by User+956 · · Score: 4, Funny

      "It's so easy a caveman can do it". So, not only do cavemen work in video production, they do network admin?

      No, read more closely. He wasn't talking about cavemen in general. He was talking about one particular caveman.

      --
      The theory of relativity doesn't work right in Arkansas.
  2. Obligatory... by Stormwatch · · Score: 4, Funny

    "So the combination is one, two, three, four, five? That's the stupidest combination I've ever heard in my life! The kind of thing an idiot would have on his luggage!"

    --
    Circumcision is child abuse.
    1. Re:Obligatory... by Zymergy · · Score: 4, Funny

      Remind me to change the combination to my luggage!

  3. he should study more (or moore) by User+956 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Convicted hacker Robert Moore, who will report to federal prison this week

    Apparently Moore's law isn't quite up to snuff.

    --
    The theory of relativity doesn't work right in Arkansas.
  4. Damn... by Cornflake917 · · Score: 3, Funny

    That caveman from the Geico commercials was just starting to make progress with his therapist. Let's hope the poor guy doesn't stumble upon this article. This hacker might get a few unexpected prison visits from whiny cavemen.

    --
    Abaddon: An Xbox 360 Indie game
  5. Re:Random passwords by Solra+Bizna · · Score: 4, Funny

    I just received a modem/router from Verizon for DSL access and they had wireless access preset to a "random" SSID and WEP key which was printed on the modem. Of course, they then went and had the administration account be admin/password.

    That's actually not so bad. In order to get on the wireless network to use the admin password in the first place, they would need to guess your SSID and WEP key. And everyone knows that's impossible, right?

    -:sigma.SB

    --
    WARN
    THERE IS ANOTHER SYSTEM
  6. Re:So easy a caveman could do it by lawpoop · · Score: 4, Funny

    What ever happened to the supercool hacking-thang called "not getting caught"? I'm sure it happens all the time; it just never makes the news...

    It could even be happening right now...
    --
    Computers are useless. They can only give you answers.
    -- Pablo Picasso