Comments on: FEMA phone system hacked

By: KaOS

KaOS — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 20:13:11 +0000

I remember those days of analog cellphones and voicemail boxes with default passwords. At the time, cell phones cost over $1,000. Remember writing basic code to tumble through a callingcard template or credit card. Remember threatening people by using above method to call local operator to place a call anywhere. Nothing they could do then.

By: 3R1C

3R1C — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 16:55:57 +0000

On older phone systems you could call a voice mail box, wait to the announcement to play, wait until the system was done recording your message, then you could transfer out and make calls.

By: Jim

Jim — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 16:04:39 +0000

I am going with the default password idea as well.

By: Standard Mischief

Standard Mischief — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 04:57:30 +0000

So at the average price of $30 per long distance call, this can go along with those $640 toilet seats and $400 hammers. Your tax dollars at work!

That's also 400 calls over 48 or so hours, meaning that if the one guy avoided sleep, he'd have to make over 8 calls an hour.

I think he had help. And why can't The Canadian Press do some basic investigative reporting/math?

By: static

static — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 04:16:03 +0000

Phreaking, hacking, whatever one calls it, this is a stupid activity to engage in this new era. The era of be afraid, VERY afraid, the industrial military complex depends on it. No doubt they know who the contractor was and what hole was plugged. That information is only for those who need to know. The people, in the government by the people for the people, aren’t those who need to know.

By: r1cebrner

r1cebrner — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 00:26:10 +0000

thats a callmaster iv. to enable mute press select mute *87 1 to enable then mute again. pull out the head seat first

By: mash

mash — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 23:03:31 +0000

who knows what the truth is. likely much worse than reported. irs misplaced 500 laptops. was probably more. our tax returns on CD are probably being sold by street vendors in tashkent

By: hazrd

hazrd — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 22:11:12 +0000

And I thought the phreaking age had long since passed.

By: BigD145

BigD145 — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 21:34:05 +0000

Bush was given fair and advanced warning about Osama’s people flying a hijacked plane into a building on US soil. If anything, the FAA cut back on security. Gov’t laptops go missing every month. Voting machines fail to record the votes of citizens. FEMA is in the shitter. Yeah. Vulnerabilities have not been addressed.

By: blizzarddemon

blizzarddemon — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 21:14:29 +0000

A better question would be, how did he manage to rack up that big a bill. It would need an average of about $30 per call…..

By: mash

mash — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 21:07:00 +0000

does anybody know exactly what “hole” they’re alluding to? could it be the tech didn’t change the default password after the upgrade?

By: cmholm

cmholm — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 21:03:25 +0000

I’m sure the name of the contractor will come out in due course. But, for those that want to speed that process, a bit of web search on FEMA, PBX, voicemail, and either the “Emergency Management Institute”, “National Emergency Training Center”, the “U.S. Fire Administration”, “Chenega Federal Systems” (a contractor), or anything else at 16825 south seton avenue, emmitsburg, md 21727 should provide some leads.

By: rivetgeek

rivetgeek — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 20:36:12 +0000

$20 says that the hole = default password.

By: dandin1

dandin1 — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 20:08:55 +0000

Phreakers in the modern age!