back to article 600 MEELLION apps open to brute force account guessing

Some of the world's most popular apps permit unlimited brute force password guessing attempts. The 53 exposed Android and Apple apps, collectively downloaded more than 600 million times, include SoundCloud, ESPN, CNN, Expedia, and Walmart. So far of the 15 apps named a dozen have failed to fix the server-side flaws after …

  1. edge_e
    FAIL

    from despair to where?

  2. John Smith 19 Gold badge
    FAIL

    Are you f**king kidding me?

    Seriously.

    They can't even deliver the security of a 1970's college computer system?

    Or is this a case of "not to worry" as long as you don't reuse your password?

    Oh, you do reuse your passwords.

    How unfortunate.

  3. Ole Juul

    Login retry limit

    Apparently not fashionable any more.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Login retry limit

      So what happens when a site gets too many complaints that the retry limit isn't enough because people really have trouble remembering if it was "correcthorsebatterystaple" or "staplehorsecorrectbattery" or some of the hundreds of combinations we're expected to keep in our heads because Post-Its are bad and we're frequently out of reach of password managers?

      1. Anonymous Coward
        WTF?

        Re: Login retry limit

        Oh please, don't give a crap excuse of "what if they forget"

        FFS you could set it to 20 attempts and still defeat this. Or, I know it's crazy and new, but add a delay? Each time the delay doubling in length.

        It like the last 30 years of computing never happpened.

        1. Charles 9
          FAIL

          Re: Login retry limit

          It didn't. Because of the HUMAN factor. Humans, like other long-lived mammals, simply can't evolve that quickly.

          And yes, "I forgot" happens ALL THE TIME. I can speak of this FIRSTHAND.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Facepalm

    Criminal negligence, FFS this is lesson one in computer security.

  5. JimmyPage Silver badge
    Facepalm

    Once again

    the lack of *any* RFC standard about web-based identity and password handling is telling.

    You'd think they'd have fixed that before they moved on to video formats ?

    1. Alister

      Re: Once again

      the lack of *any* RFC standard about web-based identity and password handling is telling.

      You really think an RFC would make any difference? Why pick on RFC, they don't do standards, they define protocols?

      What's wrong with W3C doing something about it, they set web standards.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Once again

        W3C, BSI, ISO ...

        *someone* should define a standard.

  6. Tannin

    AC wrote: "W3C, BSI, ISO ... *someone* should define a standard."

    Oh, there is a standard. You just don't like it.

    (For those who have forgotten, the standard is called "Do whatever the hell you like" and don't waste any valuable time on it 'coz it's not as if users mattter, let alone security, next question please". Everyone uses it - well, nearly everyone - but most people have a bit of trouble remembering the acroynm, which is DWTHLYD .... DWHYLC .... er ... can I have three guesses?)

  7. MrWibble

    Numbers

    Surely the 600 million apps are not being used constantly to brute force password? So a more accurate headline would be that 53 apps are able to be used to brute force.

    But that doesn't have the same "journalistic" impact, I suppose.

    1. Stoneshop
      FAIL

      Re: Numbers

      It's not the app itself that's vulnerable (maybe it is, but that's irrelevant in this case), but the service that it connects to. THAT is available full-time, whether or not any legitimate user has connected.

  8. Anonymous South African Coward Bronze badge

    Why not do like any normal M$ server does and lock the account out for x minutes after y incorrect login attempts? Not sure if *nix offer this kind of feature though...

    Coupled with a script to ban offending IP's for an hour, then two hours, then a day, then a week should keep most accounts safe... or am I talking to a brick wall?

    1. Charles 9
      FAIL

      Yes, that brick wall is your customer who complains because he's locked out of the service he wants so badly but has such a bad memory that he can't recall his password, even with help from mnemonics. And if you tell them to sod off since they're too stupid, they start trash-talking your app with their friends and so on. You can't win, basically. You basically have to be able to accommodate total idiots who can't remember their own name half the time or you get flooded with bad press.

  9. Mahou Saru

    One word...

    fail2ban

  10. Zmodem

    encypt cookies with a server side back end key, my null nuke is still rocking

    http://www.mediafire.com/download/j5l7ok7ps051c9p/NULL-8X3-NUKE_v2.2.zip

    it only really has 1 worm possible exploit nobody has prooved, there is no point in a super admin hacking your own box, with the file system exploits

    https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/33091/

    1. Zmodem

      just using a php cypher to encrypt cookie data then using base64 so you can store it, stops all sql injections and cookie theifs and a thousand other things, and better then having 2 passwords

      if someone opens a cookie and decodes the base64 string, you have a cypered strings you need a server side key to decypher

  11. OffBeatMammal

    Hopefully Starbucks will be included on this list - and take it more seriously than when I reached out to them about the problem.... http://post.offbeatmammal.com/2015/06/22/security-of-individual-accounts-matters-but-not-to-starbucks/

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Happy

      1 line but nearly got a full house.

      "when I reached out to them about the problem.."

      you should of said:

      "when I reached out to them about the challenge.."

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