[13035] in cryptography@c2.net mail archive
RE: don't like the price? change the barcode!
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Paul Lambert)
Tue Apr 15 19:13:11 2003
X-Original-To: cryptography@metzdowd.com
X-Original-To: cryptography@metzdowd.com
Date: Tue, 15 Apr 2003 13:09:32 -0700
From: "Paul Lambert" <PaulLambert@AirgoNetworks.Com>
To: <cryptography@wasabisystems.com>
The membership cards at many stores use barcodes (
http://www.nocards.org/ ).
While most have a magnetic stripe, they are often entered using
a bar code scanner (especially when the mag stripe accidentally gets
erased).
Many home labeling machines are able to print bar codes. White=20
home made bar code labels placed on the card are difficult to=20
distinguish from the original card.
For example, the 'Safeway Club Card' that I'm currently using
is '41002004587'. Anyone with a label machine can now identify
themselves at Safeway using this number. This identification
will effectively prevent the fines imposed by Safeway for
those that refuse to identify themselves.
Paul
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Perry E. Metzger [mailto:perry@piermont.com]=20
>Sent: Friday, April 11, 2003 9:57 AM
>To: cryptography@wasabisystems.com
>Subject: don't like the price? change the barcode!
>
>
>
>A trivial way to attack automated bar code scanners: change=20
>the barcodes on products you are buying. I think actually=20
>doing it is reprehensible, but on the other hand it does show=20
>what happens when people start applying lessons from computer=20
>security to the real world:
>
>http://www.re-code.com/
>
>A Salon article on the same topic:
>
>http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2003/04/10/barcode/index.html
>
>--=20
>Perry E. Metzger perry@piermont.com
>
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