Scariest search engine on the net

THIS excerpt from a video tutorial for Shodan, dubbed 'the search engine for hackers', shows just how easily personal and professional information can be accessed.

THE 'scariest search engine' is peering in the darkest corners of the internet and finding servers, webcams, traffic lights and even power plants open to anyone with a computer.

Shodan, dubbed the 'search engine for hackers', collects information on 500 million devices every month, CNN reports.

The search engine was named after the villain in the cyberpunk role-playing games System Shock and System Shock 2.

Traffic lights, security cameras and home automation systems are all hooked up to the internet and easy for the 'dark Google' to find. One cybersecurity expert even used it to find a hockey rink that could be defrosted, traffic lights for an entire city, and the controls for a hydroelectric plant in France.

Simple searches on Shodan uncover system controls for a water park, a gas station, hotel wine cooler and crematorium, CNN reports. And some researchers have even found control systems for nuclear power plants and even a particle-accelerating cyclotron, as well as garage doors and lighting systems.

In a shocking security lapse, few of these devices even have passwords - because many were never supposed to be put online in the first place.

“You can log into just about half of the internet with a default password,” Rapid 7 chief security officer told CNN. “It’s a massive security failure.”

CYBER CRIME cost Australian's $4.8 billion last year. A computer expert demonstrates just how easily you could become a victim, and what you can do to prevent it. VISION: Thomas Aldahn

Searching for ‘default password’ on Shodan brings up numerous servers, system controls and printers that use ‘admin’ as ‘1234’ as username and password.

Independent security tester Dan Tentler, at a Defcon cybersecurity talk, said tens of thousands of webcams, hydrogen fuel cells used in military instillations, power meters, theatre lighting, heat pumps are all online. 

"You could really do some damage with this," he said.

Many of these systems have no security, because they were designed to be hooked up to a company’s own systems. Instead, they are connected to a web server - making them open to anyone with a computer.
 

Shodan search engine looks for things Google won't find - including webcams, lighting systems, printers and even control systems for power plants, water parks and home automation systems.

One cybersecurity expert quickly found the entire, open to the web, traffic control system for a US city by searching Shodan. Thinkstock

View the original article here

Scariest search engine on the net

Many servers, printers and control systems for homes and businesses are quickly searchable online, and many use default passwords and usernames. Source: Supplied

THE 'scariest search engine' is peering in the darkest corners of the internet and finding servers, webcams, traffic lights and even power plants open to anyone with a computer.

Shodan, dubbed the 'search engine for hackers' collects information on 500 million devices every month, CNN reports.

Traffic lights, security cameras and home automation systems are all hooked up to the internet and easy for the search engine to find. One cybersecurity expert even used it to find a hockey rink that could be defrosted, traffic lights for an entire city, and even the controls for a hydroelectric plant in France.

Simple searches on Shodan uncover system controls for a water park, a gas station, hotel wine cooler and crematorium, CNN reports. And some researchers have even found control systems for nuclear power plants and even a particle-accelerating cyclotron, as well as garage doors and lighting systems.

In a shocking security lapse, few of these devices even have passwords - because many were never supposed to be put online in the first place.

“You can log into just about half of the internet with a default password,” Rapid 7 chief security officer told CNN. “It’s a massive security failure.”

Searching for ‘default password’ on Shodan brings up numerous servers, system controls and printers that use ‘admin’ as ‘1234’ as username and password.

Shodan search engine looks for things Google won't find - including webcams, lighting systems, printers and even control systems for power plants, water parks and home automation systems.

Independent security tester Dan Tentler, at a Defcon cybersecurity talk, said tens of thousands of webcams, hydrogen fuel cells used in military instillations, power meters, theatre lighting, heat pumps are all online. Searching on Shodan, he found a car wash he could turn off, a hockey rink that could be defrosted, a hydroelectric plant’s control system and the traffic lights for an entire city that could easily be manipulated online.

"You could really do some damage with this," he said.

Many of these systems have no security, because they were designed to be hooked up to a company’s own systems. Instead, they are connected to a web server - making them open to anyone with a computer.
 

One cybersecurity expert quickly found the entire, open to the web, traffic control system for a US city by searching Shodan. Thinkstock

View the original article here

Fast cars rev The Boss' engine

Corvette in winter: Bruce Springsteen in Haddonfield, New Jersey, in 1978. Picture: Frank Stefanko. Source: Supplied

BRUCE Springsteen loves cars.

In his songs, he has seduced women in them, driven until dawn, stolen and crashed dozens of vehicles over the decades.

In a new exhibition of photos of The Boss to coincide with his Wrecking Ball tour opening this week, it appears he has also owned plenty of cars.

Bruce Springsteen in a Corvette in Holmdel, New Jersey in 1978. Picture: Lynn Goldsmith

The exhibition From Darkness To A Dream takes fans behind the scenes on tour with Springsteen, on the road with his cars and bikes and lifts the veil on album artwork shoots by famed rock photographers Frank Stefanko, Danny Clinch and Lynn Goldsmith.

The Blender Gallery exhibition provides a rare glimpse of the Boss relaxing with his E Street bandmates, warming up before a show and hanging out in his beloved New Jersey.

Bruce Springsteen in concert in Milwaukee in 2008. Picture: Danny Clinch

''Frank always shot your internal life. He let your external imperfections show. His photos had a purity and poetry,'' Springsteen said of the 1978 sessions with Stefanko which would result in the cover of The Darkness.

Goldsmith's first shoot with Springsteen in April 1972 in New York was daunting for the aspiring snapper.

Bruce Springsteen at New Brunswick Boxing Gym in 2009. Picture: Danny Clinch

She was sent by Rolling Stone on her first assignment to snap a portrait of this rising star who was being hailed as ''the Bob Dylan of the '70s''.

''The article was going to be called It's Sign Up A Genius Month. Because the shoot was set to take place in a dark bar on Bleecker Street in New York, I knew I could not depend on available light. I would need a flash. I'd never used one before and thought this ''genius'' is going to know I'm stupid,'' Goldsmith said.

The Sitdown at Shellow's: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band at Shellow's Ice Cream Shop in New Jersey 1978. Picture: Frank Stefanko

''Six years later, Bruce told me what he was thinking the first time I took his picture. 'I thought a Rolling Stone photographer; a girl who lives in New York City - she knows what she's doing. She's going to think I'm just this guy with a bar band from New Jersey. She's going to think I'm a dope''.

Clinch has worked extensively with The Boss over the past decade, shooting the album covers for The Rising, The Seeger Sessions and Working on a Dream.

Bruce Springsteen picutred here in 2006. Picture: Danny Clinch

Springsteen is expected to arrive in Australia on Tuesday to kick off his first tour here since 2003.

It opens in Brisbane on Thursday before heading to Sydney and Hanging Rock in Victoria next week.

From Darkness To A Dream - Images of Bruce Springsteen is on at the Blender Gallery in  Paddington from March 14 to April 20.

View the original article here

Fast cars rev The Boss' engine

Corvette in winter: Bruce Springsteen in Haddonfield, New Jersey, in 1978. Picture: Frank Stefanko. Source: Supplied

BRUCE Springsteen loves cars. In his songs, he has seduced women in them, driven until dawn, stolen and crashed dozens of vehicles over the decades.

An historic collection of photos of The Boss - whose Wrecking Ball tour opens this week - reveals he has also owned plenty of cars.

The photos take fans behind the scenes on tour with Springsteen, on the road with his cars and bikes and lift the veil on album artwork shoots by famed rock photographers Frank Stefanko, Danny Clinch and Lynn Goldsmith.

Bruce Springsteen in a Corvette in Holmdel, New Jersey in 1978. Picture: Lynn Goldsmith

For fans, the photos are a glimpse of the Boss relaxing with his E Street bandmates, warming up before a show and hanging out in his beloved New Jersey.

"Frank always shot your internal life. He let your external imperfections show. His photos had a purity and poetry," Springsteen said of the 1978 sessions with Stefanko which would result in the cover of The Darkness.

Bruce Springsteen in concert in Milwaukee in 2008. Picture: Danny Clinch

Goldsmith's first shoot with Springsteen in April 1972 in New York was daunting for the aspiring snapper.

She was sent by Rolling Stone on her first assignment to snap a portrait of this rising star who was being hailed as "the Bob Dylan of the '70s".

Bruce Springsteen at New Brunswick Boxing Gym in 2009. Picture: Danny Clinch

"The article was going to be called It's Sign Up A Genius Month. Because the shoot was set to take place in a dark bar on Bleecker Street in New York, I knew I could not depend on available light. I would need a flash. I'd never used one before and thought this "genius" is going to know I'm stupid," Goldsmith said.

"Six years later, Bruce told me what he was thinking the first time I took his picture. "I thought a Rolling Stone photographer; a girl who lives in New York City - she knows what she's doing. She's going to think I'm just this guy with a bar band from New Jersey. She's going to think I'm a dope"."

The Sitdown at Shellow's: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band at Shellow's Ice Cream Shop in New Jersey 1978. Picture: Frank Stefanko

Clinch has worked extensively with The Boss over the past decade, shooting the album covers for The Rising, The Seeger Sessions and Working on a Dream.

Springsteen is expected to arrive in Australia on Tuesday to kick off his first tour here since 2003.

Bruce Springsteen picutred here in 2006. Picture: Danny Clinch

It opens in Brisbane on Thursday before heading to Sydney and Hanging Rock in Victoria next week.

View the original article here