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1995 - The age of little to no computer security whatsoever

posted 11 years ago by budworthtdog
5 replies | jump to latest

I know it's a movie but Jesus tap dancing Christ how bad can everyone's computer security be? I know there have always been really good hackers out there but dude seriously? Multiple medical records, pharmacies, the LAPD, the UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT, and more!?!?!!?! It's as if every system used "password" for their password and had absolutely no firewalls or anyone monitoring their databases. Yes lets use a contracted security program and have absolutely no independent penetration testers. Like I said I know it's just a movie but come on, make it look like the hackers had a little bit of a challenge.

With all that said this movie kicks a$$ in it's own corny way. Being born in the '85 and seeing computers and the internet really take off I love how nostalgic this movie feels.

-- Den som vinkar till den blinde, han gör fåfängt arbete.

[–] HowYaLikeDemApplesWill 11 years ago

In the earliest days of the commercialized version of the Internet (ala 1995, when Win95 was released and ISP's began to blossom), it almost was a version of the Wild Wild West when it came to network and computer security.

I remember a story around 2000 where a net security firm randomly tried to enter routers and servers throughout the US using the default ID and password that most routers were configured with, based on brand (the most prevalent being admin/password)...and amazingly they were successful in getting in about 30% of the time. And we're talking the networks of major US companies, and I am sure some government entities were in there as well.

Whose idea was it for the word "Lisp" to have an "S" in it?

[–] kungfuflygirl 10 years ago

I remember a story around 2000 where a net security firm randomly tried to enter routers and servers throughout the US using the default ID and password that most routers were configured with, based on brand (the most prevalent being admin/password)...and amazingly they were successful in getting in about 30% of the time. And we're talking the networks of major US companies, and I am sure some government entities were in there as well.

hmmmm...kind of wish this thread would generate some more activity :-)
Computer security is a tricky game right? There's always somebody who knows enough to bypass a machine's software, no?

[–] taz420nj 9 years ago

I remember a story around 2000 where a net security firm randomly tried to enter routers and servers throughout the US using the default ID and password that most routers were configured with, based on brand (the most prevalent being admin/password)...and amazingly they were successful in getting in about 30% of the time. And we're talking the networks of major US companies, and I am sure some government entities were in there as well.

Oh hell yes! Those days Wifi was still brand spanking new, and people bought Wifi routers, plugged them in, and felt the blissful wash of wireless internet - without changing a single setting. I was the first one to wardrive my area for the WiGLE project (2001-2002ish), and nearly EVERY AP that I caught was wide open. We're talking THOUSANDS. Not only were they wide open, on the overwhelming majority of them everything was default, and you'd have free access to other computers on the network, which were usually set to share everything! And while home/private users were of course the worst offenders, I was shocked at how many larger businesses were doing it too!

And then of course we discovered that WEP was useless - and it ASTOUNDS me that not only is it still an option in routers today, BUT PEOPLE STILL USE IT!! (ActionTec routers for Verizon FiOS not only come defaulted to use WEP, but the WEP key is directly associated with the default SSID! Talk about asking for trouble!)

[–] f-m-eriksson 10 years ago

Du levde obviously inte i vuxen ålder när denna filmen kom.

[–] spookyrat1 9 years ago

... no firewalls or anyone monitoring their databases.

Obviously the movie simplifies things, but I thought she discovered during the film that many institutions were using a "security" program originating from the Praetorian Guard's proxy firm.🐭