Data stolen through a fish tank
Published on October 1, 2024.A North American casino's fish tank was so high-tech that it could be remotely monitored, automatically adjust its temperature and salinity, and automate feedings. Hackers exploited a vulnerability in the thermometer to get a foothold in the network. Once security software was installed, it identified an anomalous data transfer from the fish tank to a remote server in Finland. This led to 10GB of data loss.
Hacked road sign drops a movie spoiler
Published on October 1, 2024.Let's face it. Nobody likes spoilers! Even more so when it's on a hacked road sign. That's exactly what happened when hackers gained unauthorized access to the remotely-programmed road sign in Castleberry Hill, Atlanta, and replaced traffic updates with movie spoilers. They wrote "Looper/Spoiler Alert/Bruce Willis Dies."
"Fashionable" dinosaurs on Vogue
Published on October 1, 2024.In 2013, the Vogue UK's website splashed dinosaurs wearing hats across the screen. People could go to their website and type in the Konami code (a famous cheat code from video games): Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A. How the hacker gained unauthorized access was not disclosed. While the intent seemed to be about fun, it still serves as a reminder of how crazy internet security breaches can get!
Hackers crank up the tornado alarms
Published on October 1, 2024.In 2017, the City of Dallas was jolted awake on a Friday night when hackers compromised its tornado emergency alert system, setting off more than 150 sirens for over 90 minutes! They apparently used a method called "Radio Replay". The emergency system could be compromised by outside radio equipment that replicates the tonal codes required to trigger the tornado alarms. At the time, there was no encryption to shield against the sounds of the imposter tones.
Free fuel after hackers crack the pump code
Published on October 1, 2024.The plan relied on a “special remote” bought online that could hack a specific pump brand at certain French gas stations. Some gas station managers made things easier by failing to change the default pin code of their gas pumps. This oversight provided an opportunity for fraudsters to reset fuel prices and erase fill-up limits. About 120,000 liters of fuel was stolen from gas stations across Paris.
Hacker hijacks a contest to win a Porsche!
Published on October 1, 2024.In the '90s, a radio station hosted a contest where the 102nd caller would win a sports car! A contestant (aka the hacker) did just that! He hacked and took over the phone lines, hijacking 25 phone systems while locking out other callers, all to ensure his triumph!
Hackers crash a baby monitor
Published on October 1, 2024.IOT-based attacks just got creepier! A hacker hijacked an Ohio family's baby monitoring system. The device was from a popular brand of baby monitors that featured remote monitoring. The hacker started screaming "Wake up baby!" The shocked parent rushed in to see that the hacker pointed the camera at them, throwing insults! Turns out the camera was a 3-year old model that needed a firmware update.
Favorite TV show leaked by hackers
Published on October 1, 2024.Talk about spoilers! The Dark Overlord, a hacker group, hijacked a post-production company to leak some episodes of the popular TV show Orange Is The New Black. The post-production company had its security compromised due to weak security practices. While the hackers demanded a ransom, the popular streaming service did not meet their ransom requests.
Power plant rocked by Thunderstruck sound track
Published on October 1, 2024.A computer worm was released in Iranian nuclear facilities. It was believed that the hacker tool Metasploit was used, and the hackers accessed the VPN. Apart from shutting down two of their facilities, the hackers also uploaded AC/DC's Thunderstruck to the system, which led to computers bizarrely playing the heavy metal track at full volume at random intervals.
Not a merry Christmas morning
Published on October 1, 2024.In December 2014, Lizard Squad put gaming consoles on pause by implementing a DDoS attack on Xbox and PlayStation networks. Considering it was Christmas, and people would be gaming, this attack could've affected about 160 million gamers.
Hackers hit the jackpot in ATMs
Published on October 1, 2024.In 2017, using the jackpotting technique, ATM machines in Germany was hacked by a malware called Cutlet Maker that was developed to enable ATMs to eject cash. The hackers managed to steal $1.5 million from ATMs in Germany. A message "Ho-ho-ho! Let's make some cutlets today!" with cartoon images of a chef and a smiling piece of meat were displayed.
Coffee machine brews a ransomware attack
Published on October 1, 2024.A security researcher discovered a smart coffee machine could act as a Wi-Fi access point, so he exploited an unencrypted connection. He figured out the machine's firmware update procedures, reverse engineered, and hacked it. He also explored crafting a ransomware attack that made the device malfunction until a ransom was paid. While not intending to pose a real threat, the researcher revealed how a seemingly common appliance could be hacked.
