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Hospital server hacked for CoD:BO (or, why gamers have a horrible rep)

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Ukonkivi Over 10,000 dead.:< Since: Aug, 2009
Over 10,000 dead.:<
#76: Jan 17th 2011 at 5:28:44 AM

Humans are a miserable species.

Genkidama for Japan, even if you don't have money, you can help![1]
KylerThatch literary masochist Since: Jan, 2001
literary masochist
#77: Jan 17th 2011 at 5:42:56 AM

If you really want to make the Humans Are Bastards claim, you could do a lot better than this thread.

This "faculty lot" you speak of sounds like a place of great power...
Clarste One Winged Egret Since: Jun, 2009 Relationship Status: Non-Canon
One Winged Egret
#78: Jan 17th 2011 at 8:00:36 AM

Mind, I don't know much about security either, I'd just rather concoct this sort of scenario than believe that somebody could disable a hospital in order to play a video game.

The hospital servers were not disabled by this process. They discovered it by someone noting that it was a bit slower than usual. I don't know why people keep assuming that the hospital servers were disabled. The potential threat of this attack would have been them stealing confidential documents, which as of the original article there was no evidence of them doing.

edited 17th Jan '11 9:53:40 AM by Clarste

KylerThatch literary masochist Since: Jan, 2001
literary masochist
#79: Jan 17th 2011 at 9:19:40 AM

To be fair, that's the first thing that comes to mind for most people when they hear the phrase "server hacked".

This "faculty lot" you speak of sounds like a place of great power...
Tzetze DUMB from a converted church in Venice, Italy Since: Jan, 2001
DUMB
#80: Jan 17th 2011 at 9:52:31 AM

^^Okay, you're right, but still.

@Nohbody, not arguing that they weren't trying to break anything, that's pretty obvious.

edited 17th Jan '11 9:52:50 AM by Tzetze

[1] This facsimile operated in part by synAC.
Nohbody "In distress", my ass. from Somewhere in Dixie Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Mu
"In distress", my ass.
#81: Jan 19th 2011 at 4:46:13 AM

@Clarste: No, they didn't actually break anything, but with the level of access required for permission to run executables, instead of a game server they could've installed a trojan or some other variety of digital nastiness.

That's why I said, a few of my posts back, the hospital IT department needs a massive collective Dope Slap, preferably with a hardback IT security book that could be used as a paperweight in a hurricane. tongue

On a properly configured network, even if they did actually get in, they wouldn't have any authority to actually do something there instead of just taking a peek (an unwelcome possibility in and of itself, given the data on the network).

edited 19th Jan '11 4:48:14 AM by Nohbody

All your safe space are belong to Trump
Clarste One Winged Egret Since: Jun, 2009 Relationship Status: Non-Canon
One Winged Egret
#82: Jan 19th 2011 at 8:46:33 AM

But when discussing their morality, there's really not much point in arguing what they could have done rather than what they did. They certainly did something very illegal, kind of rude, and also stupid, but they did not endanger anyone's life or steal anyone's identity (as far as we know). Obviously it's not a good thing for hospital servers to be hacked, but nothing bad actually happened in this case.

WillyFourEyes from [Hyperlink blocked] (Troper Sage) Relationship Status: Abstaining
#83: Jan 19th 2011 at 3:47:57 PM

Perhaps it will be revealed that the hackers were granting a cancer kid's last request to play a game of Call of Duty. Now who's the asshole, huh? HUH?

Until Dave Chappelle comes along and "whoops [that cancer patient's] monkey ass". Then it's not quite as funny anymore. :(

"It ain't about whether you win or lose, unless you got money on the game, because...damn. That's your money, son."
Chagen46 Dude Looks Like a Lady from I don't really know Since: Jan, 2010
#84: Jan 19th 2011 at 4:00:51 PM

Damn, I told some guys I know who love Black Ops, and they still find this to be crossing the Moral Event Horizon.

"Who wants to hear about good stuff when the bottom of the abyss of human failure that you know doesn't exist is so much greater?"-Wraith
WoolieWool Heading for tomorrow Since: Jan, 2001
Heading for tomorrow
#85: Jan 20th 2011 at 4:51:04 PM

"And remember kids, if your computer or server gets fucked by hackers, its your fault for not having enough security". Seriously, fuck the people who reason like that.

It's basically a "the slut was asking for it" for the digital age. Good old fashioned victim-blaming. People never change.

Out of Context Theater: Mike K "'Bloody Pussies' cracked me up"
MajorTom Since: Dec, 2009
#86: Jan 20th 2011 at 5:02:18 PM

Except in computer security it's true. You can file charges against the hacker if you have sufficient identifying information, but really your at fault for having such poor security.

The only exception to that as mentioned earlier is day zero attacks.

Tzetze DUMB from a converted church in Venice, Italy Since: Jan, 2001
DUMB
#87: Jan 20th 2011 at 5:04:30 PM

It's not a matter of fault, it's a matter of their being dangerously insecure.

[1] This facsimile operated in part by synAC.
Ana Since: Jan, 2001
AllanAssiduity Since: Dec, 1969
#89: Jan 22nd 2011 at 9:26:32 AM

@Major Tom: Hindsight is perfect. If they had been allowed to keep their jobs (which I presume they have), they likely thought that their security was good enough for both themselves and the law; now that it's been hacked, it's a bit rich to be talking about how they failed to make good enough security,

Ultimatum Disasturbator from The Wiggle Room (Old as dirt) Relationship Status: Who needs love when you have waffles?
Disasturbator
#90: Jan 22nd 2011 at 10:03:57 AM

ಠ_ಠ

have a listen and have a link to my discord server
WoolieWool Heading for tomorrow Since: Jan, 2001
Heading for tomorrow
#91: Jan 22nd 2011 at 10:07:35 AM

Great, now we are talking rape. Classy, really.

Who cares? The analogy works. The slut server owners were asking for rape getting hacked by dressing too skimpily being lax on security so now everyone blames them instead of, you know, the actual people that did it.

Out of Context Theater: Mike K "'Bloody Pussies' cracked me up"
Glowsquid Since: Jul, 2009
#92: Jan 22nd 2011 at 10:25:36 AM


This post was thumped by the Codfish in a Derby Hat

RocketDude Since: May, 2009
#93: Jan 22nd 2011 at 1:27:05 PM

You forget that hackers don't care, they just do what they do.

Come on, we live in an age where Anti-Virus and Spam-Blocker programs keep upping the ante to keep out virii and spam in a digital race/war. If you have to protect your data, then try to make sure that this doesn't happen. It's not entirely your fault if you get hacked, certainly, but there are steps you can take to avoid it from happening.

Keep in mind, this is coming from a person who has heard tales of Steam accounts getting compromised due to the owners clicking on suspicious links.

Plus, did anyone catch the perps responsible for the hacking?

edited 22nd Jan '11 1:27:21 PM by RocketDude

MajorTom Since: Dec, 2009
#94: Jan 22nd 2011 at 1:49:37 PM

@Allan: There's a bit a of rule of thumb you need to know about computer security. Good enough for the law is not good enough in practice. The law is notoriously behind in terms of technology. If you do not make an effort to provide the best possible security you can do and I mean best possible as in no such thing as "good enough", then when a hacker comes calling if he breaks in you deserved it for leaving a way in.

Truly "good enough" security means the hackers in this case never should have gotten anywhere near as far as they did. Worse, there are a lot of security tools out there that cost nothing and they are very good at what they do. snort for instance (note the lowercase), is the best intrusion prevention/detection system in the entire computer industry by rating and it's open-source. Were the hospital running that, they likely could have stopped them in their tracks.

TheInferno |Y| = |X| Add 5 from probably on Earth Since: Jul, 2010
|Y| = |X| Add 5
#95: Jan 22nd 2011 at 1:57:31 PM

On reflection, we don't know if it was a zero-day attack or not, or whether some idiot employee accidentally opened a hole in a perfectly good security set up in order to do something rather than consulting the guys in charge to get it done and keep things secure (which is a possibility). Hell, someone could have picked up a flash drive that had a trojan on it someone had left in the parking lot, whereupon the guys in Scandanavia did their hacking, in which case it was an innocent mistake. There's not enough information there to go on.

Still think that they could have caught em had they had better security, but I'm hoping to go into that field and I think too highly of myself, so... >_>

[down]That is a much better analogy then the one I had.

edited 22nd Jan '11 2:00:04 PM by TheInferno

"The fact that your food can be made into makeshift bombs alarms the Hell out of me, Scrye." - Charlatan
Eriksson Since: Dec, 1969
#96: Jan 22nd 2011 at 1:57:55 PM

@Woolie: The analogy doesn't really work, though. It's not just the target that could be compromised if its security is at risk. It's carrying other people's data, and those people could be harmed if their data falls into the wrong persons' hands.

A more accurate analogy would be a delivery boy carrying a shipment of vital medicines through the back alleys of a crime-ridden neighborhood on foot wearing a T-shirt with ROB ME printed on the back. Because that's about the amount of planning and funding that must have went into your web security if a bunch of bored gamers were able to host a server on your system without your permission.

edited 22nd Jan '11 1:58:28 PM by Eriksson

RocketDude Since: May, 2009
#97: Jan 22nd 2011 at 2:01:23 PM

Another analogy that works assuming a non-Day Zero attack would be a hole in a building that hobos found and used as shelter.

Ana Since: Jan, 2001
#98: Jan 22nd 2011 at 11:08:40 PM

Zero day or not, there is no reason a server like that should be on the internet, period. If you really need remote access, that's what a VPN is for.

Clarste One Winged Egret Since: Jun, 2009 Relationship Status: Non-Canon
One Winged Egret
#99: Jan 22nd 2011 at 11:17:15 PM

Well, for all we know it was a hospital employee that did this in the first place. "Hey guys, the place I work has this awesome server that they never use for anything. I bet we could even play COD on it and no one would even notice! Here's the password:"

edited 22nd Jan '11 11:17:34 PM by Clarste

RocketDude Since: May, 2009
#100: Jan 23rd 2011 at 12:39:47 AM

Wait, an employee at the Hospital?

Guess I can throw/put away my copy of Gregory Leland's Idiots At Work now, because this is perhaps the most timeless example of an idiotic employee I've ever seen.

Hope he/she gets fired over this...


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