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MP's concern after girl, 6, hacks into Commons computer
9:00am Wednesday 28th March 2007
Comments (32)
AN MP has told of her concerns after a six-year-old Hampshire girl hacked into her computer in the House of Commons.
It took the youngster, from Winchester, who has little knowledge of computers, just 15 seconds to seriously breach security using a simple device that can be easily, and legally, bought on the Internet.
"It’s frightening to discover that someone can so easily spy on what you’re doing without you knowing about it.”
MP Anne Milton
The information she could have gathered after successfully bugging Tory MP Ann Milton's computer includes confidential passwords, top-secret files and sensitive personal details.
As part of a BBC investigation the girl smuggled a £50 keylogger into one of the most heavily guarded buildings in the country.
With security focussed on keeping guns and bombs out, she walked past the armed police and through X-ray searches and no one batted an eyelid.
Once inside, the producers of Inside Out convinced Ms Milton to leave her computer unattended for just 60 seconds. Within a quarter of that time the youngster had successfully fitted the device.
Although a bug had just been attached to a machine within the House of Commons, not one alarm was raised.
Keyloggers, which are increasingly being used by hi-tech criminals and fraudsters, fit at the back of a computer and are designed not to be noticed by its owner. Once fitted, they record every piece of information typed into the keyboard for up to six months, which can include passwords, bank details or credit card numbers.
To retrieve the information the hacker simply needs a few seconds at a later date to remove the device.
Ms Milton told the programme, which is presented by Chris Packham, that she was shocked at how easily her computer was compromised.
"It really surprises me," said the Conservative MP for Guildford. "It's the speed, the size of the device and the ease with which it was attached to my computer. It's frightening to discover that someone can so easily spy on what you're doing without you knowing about it."
The House of Commons refused to comment on the security breach.
Your Say YourThis is Hampshire
laydee.f.gee, sholing says...
12:54pm Fri 23 Mar 07
lil miss, says...
1:02pm Fri 23 Mar 07
sceptic, planet earth says...
1:59pm Fri 23 Mar 07
Harldy a 6 year-old hacking into a PC - the situation is more akin to drug runners using young children as mules to lessen their chance of detection.
Robert, says...
3:55pm Fri 23 Mar 07
computer whizz, says...
11:02pm Fri 23 Mar 07
Robert wrote:Very stupid, issues of high importance are not sent via the e-mail system dues due the dangers of hackers etc and if they are, they are password protected and scrambled through the ds line and can only be accessed by certain computers. So very unlikely.
With techniques like this we could all find out about the secret emails sent and received by members of Southampton City Council! We'd all know What Nora Goss had been watching on TV and what Adrian Vinson paid for his latest washing machine. I just can't wait!
cynic, southampton says...
9:07am Sat 24 Mar 07
This will put her off politics for life.
I blame the parents.
Bob Hope, Southampton says...
10:18am Sat 24 Mar 07
Sam Bird wrote:Are you just slightly stupid, the girl was doing it as part of a bbc program.
Wtf are they going to do this the stupid lil girl?
real expert, says...
10:57am Sat 24 Mar 07
Very stupid, issues of high importance are not sent via the e-mail system dues due the dangers of hackers etc
err... very stupid...the point of a keylogger is it captures keyboard input at the physical level, before it gets to the actual computer for any encryption. What you end up with is the output of any key press....not the output of the display. So if someone types an email you will see it, but not be able to see the email inbox since this does not pass through the keyboard.
Of course if you capture their password, this is one step to getting into their systems, though you still need network access, right software levels and configuration.
matt, Tampa says...
12:32pm Sat 24 Mar 07
what a load of pish, says...
12:37pm Sat 24 Mar 07
why let factual correctness get in the way of a story though
jim, The Internet says...
9:15pm Sat 24 Mar 07
Andrew, Newbury says...
11:05pm Sun 25 Mar 07
jim wrote:This is journalism today huh? - what to these f**in' retards get paid? (hope the kid got some sweeties) - JEEEEEZ!
Well, they said that the BBC are dumbing down, but this is pathetic. I hope somebody gets bollocked for this farce of an \'investigation.\'
computer whizz, says...
1:11am Mon 26 Mar 07
real expert wrote:I was taking the p**s. Shame you were born with brains but without a sense of humour.
Very stupid, issues of high importance are not sent via the e-mail system dues due the dangers of hackers etcerr... very stupid...the point of a keylogger is it captures keyboard input at the physical level, before it gets to the actual computer for any encryption. What you end up with is the output of any key press....not the output of the display. So if someone types an email you will see it, but not be able to see the email inbox since this does not pass through the keyboard. Of course if you capture their password, this is one step to getting into their systems, though you still need network access, right software levels and configuration.
who cares, says...
2:28am Wed 28 Mar 07
ddarko, says...
4:51am Wed 28 Mar 07
What the heck is the point of this ridiculous exercise?
ddarko, says...
5:13am Wed 28 Mar 07
What in the heck is the purpose of this article/program?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2007/03_march/23/keylogger.shtml
Forgetting the fact that the headline is completely false and misleading (the 6 year old girl did not hack into anything and was simply used as a smuggling vehicle), the article tries to raise the public fear level by taking advantage of our protective instinct toward our children. Distasteful to say the least and insulting. The fact of the matter is that no security measure in existence is 100% full proof. This article does nothing more than to point out that well known fact in a way that is frightening to some people. And not in a very original way mind you. The issues of keyloggers and using children as a means of smuggling objects has been talked about to death over the years. Whoever authorized this program to air should be fired.
George, says...
1:24pm Wed 28 Mar 07
matt wrote:NOTHING the media call "hacking" ever is actually hacking
Using a keylogger from a usb device is NOT hacking. Also, all the kid
did was plug in the device; she didn't research it, buy it, learn to
use it or even have the idea to do so? This article is LAME....
George, says...
1:25pm Wed 28 Mar 07
computer whizz wrote:ah the old "if I get caught out being wrong, pretend I was joking" gambit. shame it never works
real expert wrote:I was taking
Very stupid, issues of high importance are not sent via theerr... very
e-mail system dues due the dangers of hackers etc
stupid...the point of a keylogger is it captures keyboard input at the
physical level, before it gets to the actual computer for any
encryption. What you end up with is the output of any key press....not
the output of the display. So if someone types an email you will see
it, but not be able to see the email inbox since this does not pass
through the keyboard. Of course if you capture their password, this is
one step to getting into their systems, though you still need network
access, right software levels and configuration.
the p**s. Shame you were born with brains but without a sense of humour.
Frank Carson, Southampton says...
3:10pm Wed 28 Mar 07
Robert, says...
3:16pm Wed 28 Mar 07
Andrew, Poole says...
4:07pm Wed 28 Mar 07
Keith Oftergrass, says...
4:13pm Wed 28 Mar 07
Why did this girls parents allow her to become involved in this activity - they should also be held accountable and social services look into whether they are fit to look after a young child.
In this day and age where stories abound regarding poor parenting we should not allow such high profile crimes to go unpunished - we must set an example to others !!
Arrest them all.
Morpoles Debetter, Shirley says...
6:13pm Wed 28 Mar 07
Bailey Rumpole, torn hill says...
1:25am Thu 29 Mar 07
rasto, says...
9:00pm Thu 29 Mar 07
i agree with Keith O. Arrest them all . Including the kid.
Well, we're not even sure that the child didn't commit keylogger crimes elsewhere.
Arrest them all, including the kid, and torture the kid to make her tell where else she has put a key logger.
Schprig Farnham, Kansas says...
9:59pm Fri 30 Mar 07
craig p, guilford says...
10:19am Thu 3 May 07
Myles, uk says...
10:15am Tue 29 May 07
I WILL OWN YOUR COMPUTERS NEXT!
Yeah man that girl is K-EREET!! She should start a hacker group and install Linux!!
Lee, Scotland says...
11:05am Thu 31 May 07
Even if it's bypassed it still leaves physical evidence that it has been tampered with.
And before you say 'That won't work, electricity doesn't travel through glue' or similar count to 30 then think before posting.
O.Scott, England says...
10:25am Tue 6 Nov 07
The fact that a 6 year old child was used for such a 'covert investigation' serves to highlight the point that 'anyone' can install a key logger, all they need is physical access to the system.
I see this as a basic social engineering attack on physical and human security, accomplished by low-tech hackers.
notahacker, london says...
1:06pm Fri 11 Jan 08
computer whizz wrote:duh. the point of a keylogger is that they capture the keystrokes from your keyboard including passwords used FOR the encryption - so your passwords would be compromised.
Robert wrote:Very stupid, issues of high importance are not sent via the e-mail system dues due the dangers of hackers etc and if they are, they are password protected and scrambled through the ds line and can only be accessed by certain computers. So very unlikely.
With techniques like this we could all find out about the secret emails sent and received by members of Southampton City Council! We\\\'d all know What Nora Goss had been watching on TV and what Adrian Vinson paid for his latest washing machine. I just can\\\'t wait!
Still a crap story really. Nobody in the industry would be surprised. It's just sensationalism.
INVESTIGATION: Inside Out presenter Chris Packham and Brianagh, with a keylogger, outside Parliament.
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Sam Bird, Southampton says...
12:43pm Fri 23 Mar 07