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Hacker delves into secret world of warranties
Nobody likes
read the tiny, legalese-ridden warranty statements that come
tech products. But a 17-year-old hacker at Defcon has been
so, and has advice for consumers and companies
.
LAS VEGAS -- A young hacker here
Defcon 20 has pulled back the dense curtain of text and ambiguity surrounding warranties to show consumers
they can hack the warranty system -- and to tell companies how
improve their warranty management.
"Darkred," as he prefers to
called, explained to a standing-room only session that it's the
manufacturers manage serial
and warranties that allows the system to
hacked.
"The serial number
you the owner of a product," said the 17-year-
, a high school senior from Texas. Darkred declined to provide additional identifying information.
Once you have a serial number
a product, he explained, the manufacturer presumes possession. It's a bit
presuming I'm you, simply
I have your Social Security number. And having a serial number isn't just an exercise
pattern prediction: Darkred says it can lead to tangible benefits. For example, he said that registering a serial number
Amazon will get you one month free of Amazon Prime.
A lifelong interest
math and algorithms led him to explore those lengthy strings of numbers
the back of nearly every product out
. "I started comparing serial numbers on the
items to see if there was a pattern," he said.
One example he explained was
Apple generates its serial numbers. "The first four digits are
manufacturing facility, the second four are unique identifiers, and the last four describe the model and color." Many
companies follow similar serial number generating practices.
Manufacturers could be better
protecting against serial number fraud, he said. Some serial numbers are easy
guess because they are generated sequentially, while some companies
you an unlimited number of attempts to register a particular number. "Nobody is going to misread their serial number 200
," he noted.
The manufacturers could be more cautious
removing serial numbers from demonstration or floor models,
help people figure out how to create a serial number. Other techniques warranty hackers could use involve e-mailing people
Craigslist or eBay to check a real number
the online product database, or looking through image search results, he said.
Adapted from: CNET, July 27, 2012.
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