25 lines
1.1 KiB
Markdown
25 lines
1.1 KiB
Markdown
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# NYC Master Keys
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[Bruce Schneier summarizes in a blog post][0] a disturbing topic regarding a New
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York City locksmith selling "master keys" on eBay, providing access to various
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services such as elevators and subway entrances.
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[A discussion about this blog post on Hacker News][1] yielded some interesting
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conversation, including an [even more disturbing article describing how simple
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it may be to create master keys][2] for a set of locks given only the lock, its
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key and a number of attempts.
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[0]: http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2012/10/master_keys.html
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[1]: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4654777
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[2]: http://www.crypto.com/masterkey.html
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I'll let you ponder the implications of both of these topics. Here's something
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to get you started: organized crime could use these keys to effectively evade
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law enforcement or break into millions of "locked" homes. Crackers could gain
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intimate access to various city systems whereby they may be able to further
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obstruct or infect systems. A security system is only as strong as its weakest
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link. Keeping citizens in the dark about these issues gives them a dangerous and
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false sense of security.
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