dslreports logo
 story category
Hack the Pentagon
Government hotspots left unsecured
It isn't just your neighbor who forgets to secure their wireless hotspot. Federal Computer Week drove around Washington and found many civil and defense agency hotspots left wide open. The crew notes it was a particular problem among defense contractors, but also found a Pentagon hotspot open and accessible 1,000 feet from the Pentagon.
view:
topics flat nest 

sivran
Vive Vivaldi
Premium Member
join:2003-09-15
Irving, TX
kudos:2

sivran

Premium Member

Now that's sad.

Ok, who wants a job as a net admin at the Pentagon or one of these defense contractors? Requirements: high school diploma, know how to plug cables in!

blueeyesm
join:2003-09-05
Waterloo, ON

blueeyesm

Member

Re: Now that's sad.

heheh - so did the terrorists win on this front???

TheMetrix
R.T.F.M. - P.E.B.K.A.C
Premium Member
join:2002-06-15
Utica, MI

1 edit

TheMetrix to sivran

Premium Member

to sivran
Hey, I take resemblance to that comment.

I got the job of being a Network Admin and Battalion Computer Supervisor just because I knew how to install an operating system and get it working on a network.

raydog1
Feel Secure
Premium Member
join:2003-07-10
La Vergne, TN

raydog1 to sivran

Premium Member

to sivran
said by sivran:

Ok, who wants a job as a net admin at the Pentagon or one of these defense contractors? Requirements: high school diploma, know how to plug cables in!
Network Admin here in need of a job.

Hey! I beat those qualifications! Where do send my resume?

a
@spherion.com

a to sivran

Anon

to sivran
you are still asking alot.

KeepOnRockin
Music Lover Forever
Premium Member
join:2002-11-08
Beaverton, OR

KeepOnRockin

Premium Member

Keep Away Zone

Even if I did find an open DoD or government hotspot, I wouldn't log in.

The last thing I'd want to do would to breach a governmental computer network (even accidently).

Googled
Yay, I have FIOS
join:2001-08-13
Orchard Park, NY

Googled

Member

Re: Keep Away Zone

Couldn't those hotspots just as easily be honeypots?

cyrus369
join:2002-09-16
usa

cyrus369

Member

Re: Keep Away Zone

said by Googled:

Couldn't those hotspots just as easily be honeypots?
could be, but unless you are stupid enough to sit outside the pentegon in your car with blacked out window for 2 hrs how would they know its you.

John Galt
Forward, March
Premium Member
join:2004-09-30
Happy Camp
kudos:8

John Galt to Googled

Premium Member

to Googled
said by Googled:

Couldn't those hotspots just as easily be honeypots?
BINGO...!!


Bill
VIP
join:2001-12-09

Bill

VIP

Only an idiot...

Only an idiot would actually log onto a government network

clevere1
Premium Member
join:2002-01-06
Vancouver, WA
kudos:1
·CenturyLink

clevere1

Premium Member

Re: Only an idiot...

said by Bill:

Only an idiot would actually log onto a government network
True .. but if it's a new laptop .. wirelessly .. ...

Me, I wouldn't touch the thing with a 2000' pole.

trparky
Android... get back here
MVM
join:2000-05-24
Cleveland, OH
kudos:4
·AT&T U-Verse

trparky

MVM

Re: Only an idiot...

said by clevere1:
said by Bill:

Only an idiot would actually log onto a government network
Me, I wouldn't touch the thing with a 2000' pole.
Yeah, especially since these guys carry guns and their policy is "shoot first, ask questions later".
Garak128
join:2002-10-01

Garak128 to Bill

Member

to Bill
You don't "log in"...
It's a wireless network. You stick a wireless router on there and share internet.

It's completely anonymous, no way you could get caught if you drive there with your laptop. They can track your internal ip/external mac.. But that's easily changed and not personally identifiable like your regular ISP's IPs.

It's just stealing high-speed, actually login into the pentagon's systems and hacking is a whole different thing.

ShootToThril
Tell The Truth
Premium Member
join:2004-06-07
Sherman Oaks, CA

ShootToThril

Premium Member

Re: Only an idiot...

You could have just said that Ignorance is Bliss
vic102482
Premium Member
join:2002-04-30
Upper Marlboro, MD

vic102482 to Garak128

Premium Member

to Garak128
If they want to they can track you even by mac, its just do they want to spend the resources and time to do that.:(

Jeremy341
Bye
Premium Member
join:2000-01-06
localhost

Jeremy341

Premium Member

Re: Only an idiot...

said by vic102482:

If they want to they can track you even by mac, its just do they want to spend the resources and time to do that.:(
I could just change my MAC, access the Pentagon's network, and change my MAC back to the original setting. There's absolutely no way they could track me down.
vic102482
Premium Member
join:2002-04-30
Upper Marlboro, MD
·Verizon FiOS

vic102482

Premium Member

Re: Only an idiot...

said by Jeremy341:
said by vic102482:

If they want to they can track you even by mac, its just do they want to spend the resources and time to do that.:(
I could just change my MAC, access the Pentagon's network, and change my MAC back to the original setting. There's absolutely no way they could track me down.
There is always a way they could track you down.:p The government uses IDS systems to monitor their networks, and no one has no idea which systems are in use so there is no real way to circumvent that which no knowledge of the system in place.

Who knows what could happen the second you access the network:p. At the very least the link will be terminated.

elvey
Spamassassin
join:2001-02-17
San Francisco, CA

elvey to Jeremy341

Member

to Jeremy341
said by Jeremy341:

said by vic102482:
I could just change my MAC, access the Pentagon's network, and change my MAC back to the original setting. There's absolutely no way they could track me down.
Uh, have you heard of TEMPEST? (Ask Google or the Wikitionary about it!)
-elvey (Who'll be at the FCC tomorrow...)

BonezX
Basement Dweller
Premium Member
join:2004-04-13
Canada
kudos:1

BonezX

Premium Member

Re: Only an idiot...

there is a way to not get caught, use the laptop, for just that, and use a desktop

or use a mac, noone ever expects a mac hacker.
t10
join:2003-05-25
Woodbridge, ON

t10 to elvey

Member

to elvey
said by elvey:

Uh, have you heard of TEMPEST?
Hmm, I wonder what range they get on this.

EvelKub
Kitty is crazy
Premium Member
join:2002-03-17
Mesa, AZ

EvelKub

Premium Member

Open spots in Phoenix, AZ

Using wifimaps.com I found that several government buildings (mostly state and city) are open in downtown Phoenix.

Sean8
join:2004-01-23
Toronto

Sean8

Member

Speed?

So whats the speed down at the pentagon?

I wouldn't mind driving down there and downloading a few things I need at roughly..... 3.4 Gbps! LOL

Maxeh
Woot?
Premium Member
join:2002-12-23
Chicago, IL

Maxeh

Premium Member

Re: Speed?

Click for full size
this image from »ircspider.com/image.php? ··· 5&sort=1
comes to mind atm :P

Bchinch00
Brian
Premium Member
join:2001-01-13
U.S.A.

2 edits

Bchinch00

Premium Member

Re: Speed?

said by Maxeh:



this image from »ircspider.com/image.php? ··· 5&sort=1
comes to mind atm :P
Where is the right side of that image.

MrBeef
Premium Member
join:2003-01-12
Granger, IN

MrBeef

Premium Member

Re: Speed?

r00ted!

Bill
VIP
join:2001-12-09

Bill

VIP

Re: Speed?

Or someone who just changed their box to look like it was a government computer.

I have a hard time believing you easily rooted a government box.

Maxeh
Woot?
Premium Member
join:2002-12-23
Chicago, IL

Maxeh to Bchinch00

Premium Member

to Bchinch00
i just found that image while browsing the site..i wasnt the one that made it...

TexasGuy
49 States And Texas
Premium Member
join:2002-12-02
Houston, TX

TexasGuy

Premium Member

Hack the Pentagon

I think you should be careful with "Hack the Pentagon" statements of secret service will visit your place of living for conspiring and provoking to "Hack the Pentagon."


SoFloRattler
Premium Member
join:2000-12-01
Port Saint Lucie, FL

SoFloRattler

Premium Member

Re: Hack the Pentagon

said by TexasGuy:

I think you should be careful with "Hack the Pentagon" statements of secret service will visit your place of living for conspiring and provoking to "Hack the Pentagon."


Stop being so full of fear....

tmpchaos
Requiescat in pace
Numquam oblitus
join:2000-04-28
Hoboken, NJ

tmpchaos

Numquam oblitus

(topic offline) Protest


Moderator Action
This entire topic was removed, either temporarily, or permanently.

boogi man
join:2001-11-13
Jacksonville, FL
kudos:1

boogi man

Member

I dunno

Being a bit of a conspiracy theorist myself. I would never even if it was open for the taking use a gvmt hotspot that just seems like asking for trouble to me. I would imagine that even with MAC changes and the like if they wanted to find you or prove that it was your pc they could but thats just my .02
t10
join:2003-05-25
Woodbridge, ON

t10

Member

Umm

Since when is a wireless signal untraceable? If one was just receiving data, you could get away with it, but your stupid wifi is a radio beacon. With proper hardware, your ass can be triangulated in no time at all.

Buncha hackzorz you are
mally5
join:2002-08-06
Buffalo, NY

mally5

Member

Not suprising to me.

I noticed about 6 months ago here both the downtown police station and city hall broadcast and unsecure wireless signal... Kinda funny.

"America, f*** YA! Coming to save the mother f***ing day YA!"
Thatgeekinit
join:2002-05-01
Washington, DC

Thatgeekinit

Member

Classified data is not on the Net

It is quite likely that most or all pentagon systems containing classified information are not connected to any network that is also connected to the internet or wifi. That is how NSA does it. No internet except at web stations. By accessing wi-fi and using their internet connection you would probably not even be physically able to connect to any sensitive system. Its still a security lapse but nothing major.
overburner
join:2005-01-17
Union, NJ

overburner

Member

daaaaaaaaaa

well first of hall i serious doubt about that thing actually being open, as per my knowledge none of the sensitive data is on open wide system. there are systems indeed open for employees to be able to access internet. it is comomn if u enter a DOD center and see more than u pc per desk. why? because employees to access sensitive networks have to be connected physically to those networks and from somewhat terminal machines. so actually a network being wide open please keep dreaming, i dont think that a contractor would just leave the thing open for the stupidity of it. in all the years that i have a goverment contractor i havent seen such foolish acts. but just has you go nowadays to a library and have wireless signal, you will also have it in public goverment buildings at least the ones that are keeping with the federal guidelines.
and forget about sensitive data they are just gateway of internet massification....


How about ..