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Hackers Break Currency Validator To Pass Any Paper As Valid Euro
Trailrunner7 writes "If espionage is the world's second-oldest profession, counterfeiting may be in the running to be third on that list. People have been trying to forge currency for just about as long as currency has been circulating, and anti-counterfeiting methods have tried to keep pace with the state of the art. The anti-counterfeiting technology in use today of course relies on computers and software, and like all software, it has bugs, as researchers at IOActive discovered when they reverse-engineered the firmware in a popular Euro currency verifier and found that they could insert their own firmware and force the machine to verify any piece of paper as a valid Euro note. 'The impact is obvious. An attacker with temporary physical access to the device could install customized firmware and cause the device to accept counterfeit money. Taking into account the types of places where these devices are usually deployed (shops, mall, offices, etc.) this scenario is more than feasible.'"
When I was around 12 or so, my dad was in the army and worked on anti-aircraft systems. One Saturday he needed to get or do something at the shop so he drug me along for the ride. Both of us in our plain clothes. We walked up to the shop, 2 guards patrolling, he said hi, pulled out his keys and opened the door. I was in awe of what I saw inside.. 15 M163 Vulcan self-propelled anti-aircraft guns all in a line. We piddled with some things, he started one up and made sure to tell me repeatedly dont stand in front of this.. (the radar).. and after an hour or so we left.
Almost to the car, he said.. "you remember those two guards?" "Yes.." I said "I didnt know them from Adam. You can get away with anything if you look like you know what you are doing."
A lesson I have remembered all my life and used on more than one occasion.