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Securely ignorant
by chris at 02:22 PM on March 20, 2005
I was watching Survivor when the phone rang. A woman's voice informed me that the alarm company had not received the monthly test signal. She wanted my password so we could do a test of the system. I'm always wary of calls like this, where someone wants you to reveal something you would never reveal if you knew better. The last time someone called about the alarm system I ended up revealing that we had one but that it wasn't activated. I didn't realize until I hung up that I just told a perfect stranger that if they wanted an easy robbery target they should come to my house because it's completely unprotected.
Hackers call this social engineering. Information is power, and people will reveal almost anything in the right context. A favorite example is Emmanuel Goldstein (publisher of 2600) doing a live demonstration at a recent hackers on planet earth (HOPE) conference in NYC, where with 150 people in the room he called a local Starbucks pretending to be a manager from the corporate office and got the unsuspecting barista to read back credit card numbers from the til. Thus when I receive phone calls asking for information I'm always listening for clues that it may be a trap.
As it turns out, I didn't know the password the woman on the phone from the alarm company was talking about. However near the end of the phone call she asked me if I knew the name and phone number of someone on the alarm contact list. That was easy, I blurted out my own name and phone number. She said thanks and hung up. And I promptly kicked myself realizing I had handed out information for no apparent reason.
So I found the password and called the alarm company to ask if they had just called, and to investigate why the monthly test may have failed. The alarm sales guy had convinced me that the system was wireless when he sold it to us, which seemed reasonable to me as it's just a box on the wall with no wires coming out of it. But the guy on the phone said the test signal may have failed because there could have been a problem with the phone line. "The alarm system goes through the phone line?", I asked. "Yes, that's right.", said the technician. My mind is always wondering how things work. "So I guess if you want to rob somebody, the first thing you should do is cut the phone line. Is that right?" The technician paused for a moment. "I'm sorry, I can't advise on that", came the reply. Imagine my comfort at the security technician's unwillingness to reveal information.
comments (5)
That is fantastic! lmFao, ah heh heh, I enjoyed it mucho.
I've never had suspicious calls, and in fact, my telephone rarely rings. I have a hatred for things that ring – and things that don’t ring but play irritating tunes, namely cell phones - because they tend to do it at times I'd rather not be distracted, so just about everybody that knows me pages me, because they know the phone will not be answered. Especially if I can't recognise the number, and usually even when I do recognise it, I talk the ringing phone: "Kiss my butt dad, not today me old china."
I do get information though, from those heavily padded guys that knock on doors.
"I'm sorry to bother you sir (Goes on for a while about what he is employed to do, as I stand and think, 'my what a shit job you have.) How much are you paying on your monthly gas bill?"
"Why?"
"Because I can guarantee you a 40% saving if you switch company."
"Sorry, who do you work for?"
"N-Power."
" I'll be sure to give them a call." *slam*
by Ex Crimson Guard NCO at March 20, 2005 6:07 PM
Chris, home alarm systems suddenly sound much less useful. I wonder if there's any other way to connect your alarm system to the alarm company, though. If they did it through radio signals, I think someone could block them or jam them. If your telephone lines went straight underground from somewhere within your house, someone could still dig to and clip them. So the question is whether the amount you pay for the service now is worth limited protection, especially if better protection is not possible to obtain. Let us know the answer, because I'm curious!
by jean at March 21, 2005 12:33 AM
My car doors won't lock. Don't ask. Long story. But it's only worth $900 and it is full of garbage. I never worried about it until I got this damn Ipod thingy. Now I leave it on the seat and watch young hoodlums eyeing it. Maybe I'll get an alarm.
by anna at March 21, 2005 7:46 AM
I'm going to try the 'barista credit card' thing.
by Lockheed at March 21, 2005 1:48 PM
iPods are small and can go with you, Anna. Put it in your pocket.
by MrBlank at March 26, 2005 6:17 PM