Newspaper "Hacks Into" Aussie Gov't Website By Guessing URL

Posted by Soulskill on Tuesday February 23, 2010 @03:58AM from the security-through-hurf-durf dept.

thelamecamel writes "According to the New South Wales state government, the Sydney Morning Herald, a local newspaper, attacked the government's 'website firewall security' for two days to research a recent story. The affected government minister said that the website was accessed 3,727 times, and that this is 'akin to 3,727 attempts to pick the lock of a secure office and take highly confidential documents.' The matter has been referred to the police, who are now investigating. But how did the paper 'hack' the website? They entered the unannounced URL. Security by obscurity at its finest."

1 of 271 comments (clear)

Min score:

Reason:

Sort:

Re:Lock, what lock? by Saint+Fnordius · 2010-02-23 04:32 · Score: 0, Redundant

To expand upon your metaphor...
Consider the "security" of the entry akin to having an unlocked door that is merely obscured by bushes painted to match the brickwork, and no pavement leading to it. There also was no one monitoring the traffic going in and out, so no one was there to notice the reporters making photographs until much later.
Security by obscurity at its finest.