# Bad Guys - How to Hack

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-guys-how-to-hack/653152>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [March 17, 2013, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-guys-how-to-hack/653152 "2013-03-17T05:05:47Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\
**Post date:** [March 18, 2013, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-guys-how-to-hack/653152/21 "2013-03-18T23:11:50Z")

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> [@msmith537](#):
>
> [I’m not sure what this has to do with what I said, but I’m talking about these things.](http://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view;_ylt=A0PDoKhcOkdR1FgAlm.JzbkF;_ylu=X3oDMTBlMTQ4cGxyBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDaW1n?back=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3Fp%3Dsecurity%2Btoken%26fr%3Dyfp-t-900%26fr2%3Dpiv-web%26tab%3Dorganic%26ri%3D21&w=125&h=72&imgurl=www.ridingthebeast.com%2Fimages%2Fsecurity-token.gif&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ridingthebeast.com%2Farticles%2Fepi-charagma-chi-xi-stigma%2F&size=3.4+KB&name=%3Cb%3ESecurity+token%3C%2Fb%3E&p=security+token&oid=874fa1e96d1dee91e533009d74aaeb74&fr2=piv-web&fr=yfp-t-900&tt=%253Cb%253ESecurity%2Btoken%253C%252Fb%253E&b=0&ni=200&no=21&ts=&tab=organic&sigr=122rtnrp1&sigb=138igaplv&sigi=11g36s2aj&.crumb=sCWBrlj5oLv)

From a quick view - yes, the same technology - the cards are smaller and cuter, but displaying a logon key good for 5 seconds was the same.

And, see “light pen” ([Light pen - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_pen)) for the original “mouse”.  
The micro implementation added a second button (and wheel), plus multiple clicks, but yes, quite a bit of the technology was around before the first Gen X specimen was introduced.

And the steal a userid and password is the oldest hack - for file under ‘state obvious’. 60 minutes got a mole hired onto the cleaning staff of some large company.  
Said mole 'hacked" the system by opening the user manual beside the terminal, opening the cover, and reading the id and password from the fly sheet.  
This system had a local printer, so he/she could snap a screen displaying the bosses payroll info.

I’d love to have a dollar for every time “password”. lover’s/pet’s name, or address has been used.  
A penny for every userid/password written on the inside cover of the user manual would produce a larger sum.

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**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\
**Post date:** [March 18, 2013, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-guys-how-to-hack/653152/22 "2013-03-18T23:21:15Z")

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> [@Toucanna](#):
>
> Cynicism alert: Bear in mind that the DPRK likes to tell its general population that the many power outages it experiences are caused by “the Americans”.
> 
> I would not be surprised if the connectivity problems the DPRK experienced/is experiencing were caused by local “operator error” and the government is blaming outside entities to disguise that.
> 
> TL;DR: Kim Jong-un infected the DPRK’s IntraWebz servers when he downloaded malware-laden pr0n.

Yea, but if it were just another 'we’re going to gloriously spit on their shoes as soon as we get a big enough ladder". I would have expected much more elaborate rhetoric.

Besides, it would have been a more-subtle-way-than-the-US-usually-employs way to deal with the kid’s ideas that his technology was worth anything

You do something bad, we take your computer network away.

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