These stupid politicians
Published: Wednesday 2006-09-06.
It is difficult not to write something about the computer trespassing that is described as “Sweden’s Watergate” and is talked about in media all over the world (even on Slashdot). Yes, it is incredibly stupid to break into other’s computer systems to get access to secret information, but it is even more stupid, if it is true what the newspapers write, that the account that was used had the same password as its user-id . It is like locking the front door, but having the key taped to it.
That you should never use a password that is easily guessable is one of the first rules you have to learn when working with computers. The password should preferably be something which is difficult to guess, preferably just a mix of letters and digits; if the word is in the dictionary it is, per definition, easy to guess. PTS has a service where you can test a proposed password, which could be useful if you are uncertain.
Anyway this scandal has not influenced me regarding my vote in this year’s election. I have already voted in advance, I did that Monday last week, at the embassy here in Oslo in conjunction with fetching my new passport, and I have no plans in changing my vote.
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- Date: 2006-09-07 13.12.03 CEST
- Name: Peter Karlsson
- Posted from: *******.opera.com
Yeah, I agree. Even if the key *is* taped to the door, using it to gain entrance is still illegal.
- Datum: 2006-09-08 05.40.53 CEST
- Namn: Anders Carlsson
- Sänt från: ******************.2.cust.bredband2.com
Det kanske rentav var en socialdemokrat som aldrig börjat använda sitt konto, så det kvarstod med ursprungslösenord. Dumt att sätta samma lösen som användarnamn, men praktiskt om man ska hantera hundratals nya konton samtidigt och räknar med att alla ska aktivera sina konton inom kort.
Jag är ganska övertygad om att ett visst ungdomsförbund planterade tipset hos sina politiska motståndare, och väntade på att någon skulle nappa. Sen väljer man ett lämpligt tillfälle att gå ut med nyheten. Naturligtvis är det inte mindre brottsligt att oombedd ta sig in hos någon annan även om nyckeln skickas i ett brev till dig, men det blir lättare att veta att man har tillgång till dörren.
- Datum: 2006-09-08 06.53.04 CEST
- Namn: Peter Karlsson
- Sänt från: *****.209.238.081.chello.no
Det har förekommit uttalanden om att lösenordet är planterat, men hittills har alla sådana uppgifter dementerats. Jag misstänker att vi aldrig får veta, men jag håller med om att det är lite väl bra tajming att informationen släpptes i samband med intervjun med moderatledaren tidigare på kvällen.
![[Opera browser]](../pics/opera94x15.png "Opera browser"){kind=small}
Well I'm not sure who's dumber; the one with the identical username/password, or the ones who must have thought they couldn't/wouldn't get caught. Sometimes, on the Internet, people *do* know you're a canine :)