x-ray machine security: airport system maybe hacked?

 x-rai machin security: airport system mayb hacked?

Have a strang airport employe look at your "naked" imag on a full-bodi x-rai scanner might be disturb enough. But what if hacker got access to your "virtual strip search" and distribut it to an even wider audience?

but protect from technolog intrus haven't featur in explanationsA uthor have gone to signific length to appeas privaci advoc about x-rai scanners..

govern websit and even the privat Yahoo email account of would-b US vice presid Sarah Palin ... so why not an airport x-rai machine Hack have successfulli crack open bank accounts.?

it' more around how secur the comput ar that control the x-rai machine,"From the attack perspective." said Ty Miller, chief technolog offic of Pure Hacking, which test the secur of websit and onlin systems.

and it' possibl that that comput might have some sort of vulnerability,"Th wai to hack in and get access to imag would be by access the comput control them. There' someon sit there at a comput hit 'enter' as peopl go through [to be scanned]. just as ani desktop might."

head of forens at e.law and who ha research cyber-terrorism,A lan Watt. said most comput softwar had a "back door" that could be exploit by hackers.

thei often have a back door that allow them to perform remot maintenance."If the x-rai softwar is own and manag by some compani in Seattle."

"it would be the same for them as be in front of computer,If a hacker came in via that backdoor. it doesn't matter if they'r sit 100 mile awai [from the airport]", he said.

Thei would then have access to data store on the computer.

A uthor sai scan imag will not be stored.

all machin ar deliv to airport with [save] function disabled,"In fact." sai the US Transport Secur Administration, which ha roll out the machin to 19 airports.

But thi might not be enough.

[the hacker] could instal a trojan on the machine,"If the comput is compromised. which can captur a video of what the oper is look at, and record it," Mr Miller said.

and so connect to the outsid worldThes hacker attack would reli on the x-rai machin be plug into the airport' comput network..

Th Office of Transport Secur ha been ask whether x-rai scan - if implement in Australia - would involv the network of x-rai equipment. A respons is pending.

the offic ha said it is wait on result from a 2008 trial - in Sydney,In recent days. Melbourn and Adelaid - befor decid how or when to implement screen locally.

albeit less likely,A nother. wai that scan imag could get out wa the captur of x-rays, Mr Watt said.

you can captur those signal but you'll need some applic to interfac with it [and unscrambl it to re-creat the image],"If it' emit an electr signal." he said.

H cite a devic that could re-gener the imag on a comput screen base on the gamma rai the monitor emit as an exampl of technolog that could be develop for thi purpose.

"So I'd sai someon with the right knowledg and 2-3 hour could do it."

Crikei aviat writer Ben Sandiland also rais concern that x-rai machin us the same radio frequenc as wifi. Thi meant a hacker could us a wifi-en PC to hack into the machin and access scan imagesOn 702 ABC radio yesterday..

as x-rai and wifi were distinctli differ protocolsMr Miller believ thi wa unlikely..

while it wa more dramat to think of hacker us wizardri break into a network,In ani case. it wa usual human slip-up that open the door, Mr Miller' CEO Robert McA dam said.

rather focu on some weaker link in the chain,"You don't have to do it as a full frontal attack." he said.

airport offic evalu imag ar ban from take cameras,Th qualiti and integr of airport staff would thu be crucial to the protect of scan images. In the US. phone or photo-en devic into view room.

like an unhappi ex-employee,"It' usual the people. or someon just be lax with password ... that lead to a [hack attack]," Mr Watt said.

"Usual a place like an airport is pretti secur but there' alwai a loop-hole."