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Congressman's phone password is 111111

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Re: Congressman's phone password is 111111

#11

Post by roenxi »

111111 is perfectly acceptable for a phone password. His password was just broadcast to the entire world; at least using 111111 means that he doesn't have any illusions about how secure it is.

Phone passwords are for protecting things from your family.

Re: Congressman's phone password is 111111

#13

Post by breadandcrumbel »

thrower123 wrote: post #5
rvz wrote: post #3

That is a iPhone X like device, which only has Face ID or a PIN. A PIN is more secure than a fingerprint and Face ID. But at least use a combination of either one with a PIN to make it more secure. Since the device was already on and it directly showed the PIN screen, Face ID is disabled and instead he chooses to only use a very very weak PIN. Oh dear.

I'd be curious if Apple had anonymous telemetry that showed what people were picking for their phone unlock PINs. Everyone I've ever seen set one does this same type of thing, either all one number, or they draw a line through the middle. The more advanced maybe use a date like their birthday that they can actually remember. It's just security theater.

Just checked what's the most popular PINs...

1234 1111 0000 1212 7777 1004 2000 4444 2222 6969 9999 3333 5555 6666 1122 1313 8888 4321 2001 1010

https://www.pocket-lint.com/phones/news/148224-these-are-the...

I'm not using any of this, but many of the people I know their PINs (family, girlfriend, close friends)

Are actually using something from this list

Re: Congressman's phone password is 111111

#14

Post by moviuro »

EvanAnderson wrote: post #12
tomatotomato37 wrote: post #7

Yup, not sure why we expect good security practices out of a group who's average age is 60

In my 20+ years in IT I haven't found much correlation between age and security practices, personally.

Can confirm: nobody cares about good OPSEC, be they at the bottom of the ladder, or in a bank's top management.

Re: Congressman's phone password is 111111

#15

Post by moviuro »

kwanbix wrote: post #9
tomatotomato37 wrote: post #7

Yup, not sure why we expect good security practices out of a group who's average age is 60

Why would age determine your intelligence?

Nothing to do with intelligence either. Most people don't grasp the consequences of bad OPSEC, though they can fairly well understand why they should lock their door when away from home.

Those people lack education on the topic.

Re: Congressman's phone password is 111111

#19

Post by pjc50 »

ceejayoz wrote: post #2

Aaaaaaand that's why these things aren't allowed in the SCIFs.

Bringing the phones into the "secure" CIF was just the icing on the cake of a straightforward attempt to disrupt the inquiry. It's a bit of direct action, almost like a sit-in. Presumably it's a crime, but not the sort that anyone is likely to be charged with if they have power.

Re: Congressman's phone password is 111111

#20

Post by falcolas »

ceejayoz wrote: post #4
rvz wrote: post #3

That is a iPhone X like device, which only has Face ID or a PIN. A PIN is more secure than a fingerprint and Face ID. But at least use a combination of either one with a PIN to make it more secure. Since the device was already on and it directly showed the PIN screen, Face ID is disabled and instead he chooses to only use a very very weak PIN. Oh dear.

> A PIN is more secure than a fingerprint and Face ID... While generally true, this is probably not the case for someone who's regularly using their phone on camera like a Congressional rep.

Even being caught once entering your passcode on camera is enough to compromise it, regardless of how complex it is. A passphrase would possibly buy you more time (less discernible finger movement on a phone screen), but I would still consider it compromised.
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