5 ms·

Schneier on Security: Manipulating Breathalyzers

19 points by mblakele 17y ago

blhack 17y ago
Is this a joke? A link to a 1 sentence post that goes to a bing search that somehow embeds a youtube video? Here is the direct link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqlq25PRbko http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqlq25PRbko
- tptacek 17y ago
  Seriously, the linkjacking is one thing, but putting "Schneier on Security" in the title... what this says is, "this content is only interesting because Schneier has filtered it for us".
  - billswift 17y ago
    I linked to a couple of Bruce's stories a week or so ago, including one that was just a link, because a lot of the comments on his blog are well worth reading, often even better than here. The benefit of HN is the breadth of subjects, but if I had to choose one or the other, I would drop HN before schneier.com. Fortunately, I don't have to.
viraptor 17y ago
Not sure why is that exciting. There's a simple way to not get your result manipulated. It's... shock - not drinking before you drive!
- pavel_lishin 17y ago
  Interesting. Could you provide step by step directions on how to do this? I'm not really sure where to begin.
  - viraptor 17y ago
    Sure - when you're about to drive, step back and undrink the drink.
    - daeken 17y ago
      Undrinking happens automatically after a dozen or so more drinks.
    - forinti 17y ago
      You're a Prolog programmer, I infer...
    - edmccaffrey 17y ago
      And then what? You tell the officer that you really haven't been drinking, and that they can trust you?
- khafra 17y ago
  From the title, I'd thought somebody discovered a specific BAC & breath speed combination that'd crash the analyzer, or something. That would've been much more exciting.
- edmccaffrey 17y ago
  Are you saying that no sober person has ever been tested? If someone is corrupt enough to manipulate a test to make someone test more inebriated, then they are corrupted enough to make a sober person test drunk.
  - viraptor 17y ago
    No - I'm saying that this trick works, because the exit for air/alcohol is blocked. If you don't exhale alcohol to begin with, then this trick should not make any difference. So if you're completely sober, then you may get "twice" the normal result - but it's still ~0.0
- Dilpil 17y ago
  Your ignoring the real point here.

19 points by mblakele 17y ago

Is this a joke? A link to a 1 sentence post that goes to a bing search that somehow embeds a youtube video? Here is the direct link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqlq25PRbko http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqlq25PRbko

tptacek 17y ago
Seriously, the linkjacking is one thing, but putting "Schneier on Security" in the title... what this says is, "this content is only interesting because Schneier has filtered it for us".
- billswift 17y ago
  I linked to a couple of Bruce's stories a week or so ago, including one that was just a link, because a lot of the comments on his blog are well worth reading, often even better than here. The benefit of HN is the breadth of subjects, but if I had to choose one or the other, I would drop HN before schneier.com. Fortunately, I don't have to.

viraptor 17y ago

Not sure why is that exciting. There's a simple way to not get your result manipulated. It's... shock - not drinking before you drive!

pavel_lishin 17y ago
Interesting. Could you provide step by step directions on how to do this? I'm not really sure where to begin.
- viraptor 17y ago
  Sure - when you're about to drive, step back and undrink the drink.
  - daeken 17y ago
    Undrinking happens automatically after a dozen or so more drinks.
  - forinti 17y ago
    You're a Prolog programmer, I infer...
  - edmccaffrey 17y ago
    And then what? You tell the officer that you really haven't been drinking, and that they can trust you?
khafra 17y ago
From the title, I'd thought somebody discovered a specific BAC & breath speed combination that'd crash the analyzer, or something. That would've been much more exciting.
edmccaffrey 17y ago
Are you saying that no sober person has ever been tested? If someone is corrupt enough to manipulate a test to make someone test more inebriated, then they are corrupted enough to make a sober person test drunk.
- viraptor 17y ago
  No - I'm saying that this trick works, because the exit for air/alcohol is blocked. If you don't exhale alcohol to begin with, then this trick should not make any difference. So if you're completely sober, then you may get "twice" the normal result - but it's still ~0.0
Dilpil 17y ago
Your ignoring the real point here.