April 23rd, 2009
Time '100 Most Influential' hacked
Even venerated Time magazine isn’t immune to hackers.
The magazine’s annual online poll of the top 100 most influential people in government, science, technology and the arts was flooded with fake votes by followers of 4chan, the popular online message board.
The 4chan hackers took advantage of the lack of authentication or validation of the online process and used ‘”autovoters” to inundate the poll with millions of votes for “moot,” a pseudonym of Christopher Poole, operator of 4chan, according to Folio.
In addition to voting moot to the top of the list, the hackers apparently rearranged the top 21 names so that the first letter of their names—looking down the list—spelled out the phrase “Marblecake Also the Game.”
Voting went live March 19.
This is an example of clever, exacting hacking — but it also shows how much a high-profile property is at stake when the right people are motivated.
If you don’t believe it, take a look (or see it live on the site):
Andrew J. Nusca is an associate editor for ZDNet and SmartPlanet.
See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
