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TechTalk: Beware of AS/400 Hackers

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If you haven't changed the default passwords to the IBM-supplied user profiles, here's a word of warning: the news is out and in the hands of 2600 magazine readers. The magazine bills itself as The Hacker Quarterly and gives details on how to gain unauthorized use of phone systems and computers.

While browsing the computer magazines at a bookstore, I spotted the Summer 1994 issue of The Hacker Quarterly. It contains a letter detailing the requirements for a PC to dial into an AS/400 and log on with the QSECOFR or QSRV user profiles. It also discussed the ECS modem models.

This is the second such letter sent to The Hacker Quarterly from a reader. In fact, it was encouraged by the earlier letter. The letter says, "KR is absolutely correct. AS/400 security is very lax." (KR is the author of the first letter.)

I posted information about the first letter a few months ago on MC-BBS and asked if this seemed like a serious concern. The slight response indicated that it wasn't. It shouldn't be, if you've changed the default passwords and know who your PC users are. And the default settings of an ECS modem never permit dial-ins.

The users of the AS/400 and its predecessors have led a sheltered life. More and more PCs are finding new ways to get connected to the AS/400, and the AS/400's contact with the non-AS/400 world is certainly increasing. So, let's be careful out there!

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