Deus Ex - Human... Reality?

Thanks to Kronos for the link to this. As previously mentioned, i've played (and thoroughly enjoyed Deus Ex), this however is about comparing the augmentations presented in the game to the augmentations currently available now. 

Social Engineering for Replacement cards

I'm a fan of Social Engineering (SE).

A while ago I had my Credit Card 'eaten' by a ATM. As a result. I was down a piece of ID.
When I went to the bank to complain I told them what had happened they told me it'd cost $20 to replace the card.
Me:"Can't you just get it back from the ATM and post it to me or something?"
Cashier: "Nope. It Needs to be re-issued."
Me: "LAME! Don't worry about it then. I'll use my debit card instead."

A month or so later. I went back to the bank and changed the story.
Cashier: "Hi There, how can I help you?"
Me: "Well, I had my wallet stolen a while ago and it had my credit card in it, luckily I've got my debit card so it wasn't to much of an issue, but unfortunately I need a new one now for online stuff"
Cashier: "Oh noes. That's terrible."
Me: "I was wondering if I could get a replacement one?"
Cashier: "Sure, would you like to pick it up in 3-4 days?"
Me: "Sure, thanks!"

Bang.
4 Days later. New credit card arrives at bank. I pick it up. I've saved $20.

So. If ever you've lost or had your card eaten by a machine. Just tell 'em it was stolen in your wallet.
Sympathy ensues.
Free cards prevail!

Huzzah.

Bank Of Melbourne Terminals

That are used for Ticket/Queue dispensing:
Are running windows XP.
Automatically log in when booted
Prompt for re-boot when you plug in new hardware.
Down the entire system 'queue' system when you reboot them ;)

If you know anything more about them, let me know.

I hack therefore I am.

Using biometrics seems like a good idea at first. Unique physical characteristics that only one person can ever have.
Its flawless in theory. But in practice, biometrics are a long way off perfect.

Using biometrics, such as fingerprint technology (currently the most common kind), is kind of like saying, "I'm not going to tell you my password, but if you look carefully at every item i've touched in this room you'll notice that i've actually written it everywhere."

It just doesn't work yet.

Xbox as a pivot point

I read some article a while ago, through slashdot or perhaps Hacker News, about how a skilled attacker had compromised a company network by attacking an Xbox console and using it as a pivot point in the network. So far as i can tell, there is no documentation on this. ANYWHERE. And i've since lost the article. Regarless, the idea seems awesome. How many people install a firewall on their Xbox? None! Because you cant!

Hack the planet!

MD5+SALT

Q: Can you generate a hash collision for MD5 (with a pre-known Salt) and have it CUDA accelerated/Multi-core capable?
A: Shit yes you can! http://durandal-project.org/download.html
A2: Haven't run it up yet, but feedback looks good.

Kevin Mitnick

While a lot of the people in the security world (underground especially) think of Kevin Mitnick (once the world's most wanted hacker) as a joke these days, I've always enjoyed reading his books which usually feature amazing hacks and more. The make for great reads, even if you aren't really into security. Download them, buy them or (gasp) check out a library.
His newest book, Ghost in the Wires, is out now. I've ordered a copy. I'll let you know how it goes.

After reading his first two books: The art of Intrusion, and The Art of Deception as a child, these books fueled the fire that inspired my hacking-quest that's lasted the past 9 years!

Happy hacking!

Hacker And Cyberpunk Movies

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