By Christopher Null
Why bother pounding at a website in search of obscure holes when you
can simply waltz in through the front door?
Hackers have recently done just that, turning to Google to help
simplify the task of honing in on their targets.
"Google, properly leveraged, has more intrusion potential than any
hacking tool," said hacker Adrian Lamo, who recently sounded the
alarm.
The hacks are made possible by Web-enabled databases. Because
database-management tools use canned templates to present data on the
Web, typing specific phrases into Internet search tools often leads a
user directly to those templated pages. For example, typing the
phrase "Select a database to view" -- a common phrase in the
FileMaker Pro database interface -- into Google recently yielded
about 200 links, almost all of which led to FileMaker databases
accessible online.
In a few cases, the databases contained sensitive information. One
held the addresses, phone numbers and detailed biographies of several
hundred teachers affiliated with Apple Computer. It also included
each teacher's user name and password. The database was not protected
by any form of security.
...
http://www.wired.com/news/infostructure/0,1377,57897,00.html
TUCoPS is optimized to look best in Firefox® on a widescreen monitor (1440x900 or better).
Site design & layout copyright © 1986-2025 AOH