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The BBC reports that several Target stores in the US have had their public address systems hacked, resulting in explicit pornographic audio being broadcast across the stores, in some cases for more than 15 minutes at a time.
An email obtained by the BBC, sent by company bosses to Target store managers across the US on Friday afternoon, outlines a weakness in the store's PA system being used to carry out the prank.I've removed a key detail for obvious reasons.
"Non-Target team members are attempting to access the intercom system by calling stores and requesting to be connected to line [xxxx]," it reads. "If connected, callers have control of the intercom until they hang up. We are actively working to limit intercom access to the Guest Services phone only. In the meantime, inform all operators to not connect any calls to line [xxxx]."
So in other words, if you ring up Target and ask to be put through to a certain extension, you're suddenly live on the PA system for as long as you like. Hardly the hack of the century, granted, but a reminder that there are people out there that will find even the most obscure vulnerabilities and exploit them.
I don't condone breaching computer systems but I guess that's one way to draw attention to vulnerabilities. Too bad they didn't pick something more kid-friendly. Like broadcasting that for the next 60 minutes there would be an 80% discount on everything in the store.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 19 2015, @02:25PM
Target has their own in house security lab[http://www.mprnews.org/story/2011/10/21/target-forensics-lab],and holding cells.
Despite all of this, they are still so bad at it. Amazing.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 19 2015, @03:40PM
Do you know how hard it is to get a job in security there? They'll hire 18 year old high school dropouts. I know of two of them at my local target, and one told me some horror stories about what goes on in security. Get a scanner and tune in to their 2-way radios for a laugh.
(Score: 1, Offtopic) by Anal Pumpernickel on Monday October 19 2015, @04:08PM
Do you know how hard it is to get a job in security there? They'll hire 18 year old high school dropouts.
Not everyone wants to be a product of our abysmal public school system. Is that so bad? Or are you under the delusion that having a piece of paper showing you graduated from some high school actually demonstrates anything important?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 19 2015, @05:11PM
To be fair, many of those high school dropouts have no interest in learning whatsoever, and would have dropped out of the best of schools. It is a reputation that has been legitimately earned in a number of cases.
Now I am not saying there aren't those just trying to get away from the miserable life that a public high schooler can lead, I think that is not what happens in the majority of cases.
(Score: 1, Offtopic) by Anal Pumpernickel on Monday October 19 2015, @05:44PM
Fair enough. But I know some people who 'dropped out' of public schools to pursue an alternative way to get an education. Homeschooling and self-education (in the case of people who were older). Still, I would say that graduating from high school really doesn't put you that far above people who dropped out because they have no desire to learn. A lot of people who do not care about learning nonetheless graduate from high school because of the lack of meaningful standards.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 20 2015, @04:24AM
(Score: 1, Offtopic) by Anal Pumpernickel on Tuesday October 20 2015, @04:17PM
Which precious snowflakes? People who graduate from abysmal schools, or people who want no part in that waste of time? With all the absurd zero tolerance standards, puritan rules, and authoritarian policies at schools, I would say it's the students of these places who are treated as special snowflakes who need to be protected from everything.