Slashdot Mirror
Dial 00000000 To Blow Up the World
Charliemopps writes "For 20 years the password for the U.S. nuclear arsenal was '00000000.' Kennedy instituted a security system on all nuclear warheads to prevent them from being armed by someone unauthorized. It was called PAL, and promised to secure the entire US arsenal around the world. Unfortunately for Kennedy (and I guess, the whole world) U.S. military leadership was more concerned about delaying a launch than securing Armageddon. They technically obeyed the order but then set the password to 8 Zeros, or '00000000'."
You mean to tell me, when WOPR was busy looking for the launch code in Wargames, it was all a bunch of crap?
"A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
that sending Snake all the way back to the blast furnance and that freezing warehouse to change the shape of the PAL override shape-memory alloy key was a waste of time. Damn it, Kojima!
I knew I needed to stop reading Slashdot and finish my PhD when I started to miss articles by Bennett Haselton.
Thankfully this would not happen today, as after adding a captcha it is now totally undecipherable by man or machine.
You have 5 Moderator Points!
Which Helpless Linux zealot/MS basher do you want to mod down today?
who set the code for this thing shatner?
Code zero zero zero. Destruct. Zero.
That's the combination for my luggage!
You mean to tell me, when WOPR was busy looking for the launch code in Wargames, it was all a bunch of crap?
They forgot to tell you that if you dial "1" you get a brand new world.
Actually the password might have been eight zeros, but you have to dial a 1 + area code to get the outside nuclear line.
When the foot seeks the place of the head, the line is crossed. Know your place. Keep your place. Be a shoe.
Good thinking! If the Romans invade, they'll never be able to launch the missiles.
"Welcome to the U.S. nuclear arsenal hotline.
Please listen carefully as some menu items have changed.
Para continuar en Espanol marque numero dos.
Main menu opti--"
Oh damn it. I fucking hate theses things.
Billions blown and I can't get a real human operator on the line?!
"--mutually assured destruction press 4
For scheduling nuclear launches press 3
For prior launch status updates press 2
To change a nuclear launch code press 1
To launch all mis--"
Aargh! Screw it. I know a trick...
:: repeatedly presses 0 until the end of the world ::
00000000 is so unsafe. It would be ten times better to use 000000000.
http://heiwaco.tripod.com/bomb.htm
The password is actually 8 Unicode capital omicrons.
At one place I worked, the marketing director had arrived at work, but had forgotten her alarm code. So, she typed in "123456". The system seemingly disarmed, and she went to her office.
Very shortly after, the police arrived. What she didn't know was that criminals trying that code first was so common that the alarm company dispatched police immediately when it was used, figuring that someone using it was trying to break in. Needless to say she was more than a little upset after everything was straightened out... ;-)
That's incredible! I have the same combination on my luggage!
I've been sitting here, entering "Joshua" all this time.
Have gnu, will travel.
Access to the big red button should be restricted to those who can pronounce nuclear.