Re: wonder what tools or test was used

[alan <alan () clueserver org>]

On Fri, 14 Jul 2006, Brent Clark wrote:

> Hey all
>
> With the hack on Debian,s gluck machine and the writes up about it.
> In the 5th paragraph of the following link:
>
> http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/security/soa/Debian_locks_out_developers_after_server_hack/0,2000061744,39263432,00.htm
>
> It reads
> "An investigation of developer passwords revealed a number of weak passwords 
> whose accounts have been locked in response," Schulze wrote.
>
> My question is, how would they go about that? What tools or tests were needed 
> to test whether an account has a strong or weak password.
>
> The only thing I can think of is a foreach on the usernames and some type of 
> brute force / dictionary attack. I suppose it would have been nice if they
> mentioned the service / protocal that was compromised.

There are a number of password checkers that can quickly determine weak 
passwords.  ("If I can crack it, it is weak.") John the Ripper and Crack 
are only two of many.

Weak passwords are a big problem.  When I worked at a large technology 
company, I ran Crack on the passwd file as part of my job.  I got over 80% 
in under an hour just using my slow 333mhz laptop.  Many of the passwords 
were "changeme".  (Mostly in marketing, including the director of 
marketing.)

What was interesting is whos passwords were weak.  I expected to get most 
of sales and marketing.  (I think I actually got all of them.)  I did not 
expect to get most of HR, then entire board of directors, and most of 
management (including most of IS and the engineering management.)

The ones who did not have weak passwords were most of the technical 
support staff and the younger engineers.  It seemed that the people in 
their 20s who were technically savvy had stronger passwords than those who 
were older, more experienced and should have known better.  (Except for 
the company Cypherpunks who all had strong passwords.)

Furthermore, of the ones I did break, the only ones who actually fixed 
their passwords were the people in HR.  Everyone else did not see it as 
important.

I was later told to not check the strength of the passwords due to 
"liability concerns".  I guess they felt that if they did not know about a 
problem, they were not liable for it if it caused a problem.  Maybe one of 
the reasons they no longer exist as a company.

--
"I want to live just long enough to see them cut off Darl's head and
 stick it on a pike as a reminder to the next ten generations that some
 things come at too high a price. I would look up into his beady eyes and
 wave, like this... (*wave*!). Can your associates arrange that for me,
 Mr. McBride?"
                      - Vir "Flounder" Kotto, Sr. VP, IBM Empire.


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