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Community => Science and Technology => Topic started by: dpareja on April 07, 2014, 01:04:03 pm

Title: 5-year-old boy finds Xbox backdoor
Post by: dpareja on April 07, 2014, 01:04:03 pm

(Mods, if this belongs in Entertainment rather than here, please move it.)

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/boy-5-figures-out-password-security-loophole-on-xbox-cell-phone-1.2600360

Yeah, a 5-year-old kid has found a loophole in the Xbox's security: hitting spacebar a few times at the password prompt.

My guess is that that was left in the code by some programmer who wanted a bypass during testing and forgot to take it out later.

Title: Re: 5-year-old boy finds Xbox backdoor
Post by: Ghoti on April 07, 2014, 01:45:46 pm

(http://data2.whicdn.com/images/49886986/original.jpg)

Title: Re: 5-year-old boy finds Xbox backdoor
Post by: Ultimate Paragon on April 07, 2014, 05:02:26 pm

We might have found another Mozart.

Title: Re: 5-year-old boy finds Xbox backdoor
Post by: Sigmaleph on April 07, 2014, 11:38:42 pm

Either that, or a five-year-old who likes to mash random buttons.

Title: Re: 5-year-old boy finds Xbox backdoor
Post by: RavynousHunter on April 08, 2014, 06:06:16 pm

Yeah...if your backdoor can be opened by something that could be done by a spastic 5 year-old (at that age, completely normal behaviour), then you should probably make something a LITTLE more secure, like a master account or something that could always get in, but had no specific privileges over a regular user.

Title: Re: 5-year-old boy finds Xbox backdoor
Post by: I am lizard on April 11, 2014, 12:42:54 am

Quote from: dpareja on April 07, 2014, 01:04:03 pm

(Mods, if this belongs in Entertainment rather than here, please move it.)

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/boy-5-figures-out-password-security-loophole-on-xbox-cell-phone-1.2600360

Yeah, a 5-year-old kid has found a loophole in the Xbox's security: hitting spacebar a few times at the password prompt.

My guess is that that was left in the code by some programmer who wanted a bypass during testing and forgot to take it out later.

I've heard 90% of hacking is finding weird flaws in the system.

Title: Re: 5-year-old boy finds Xbox backdoor
Post by: The Illusive Man on April 24, 2014, 11:24:23 pm

Quote from: I am lizard on April 11, 2014, 12:42:54 am

I've heard 90% of hacking is finding weird flaws in the system.

Normally the following applies,  "Good software does what it's supposed to do.  Secure software does what it's supposed to do and nothing else." But such can not accound for human error.