ARe Hackers 1 step ahead in the lotto??I always had a hunch..

Reply #21

jwhou — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 21:33:23 GMT

Well, with any change, there are ways to circumvent the system. That's true of the mechanical draws as well, it's just that over time, most of the mechanical means would've been discovered and mitigated. Computers are new and there will be new ways of circumventing them and over time we will find ways of mitigating these problems.

An audit of a computer would include opening up the box and ensuring that only the specified components exist. An audit of the software would be an independent chec... [ More ]

Reply #20

four4me — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 20:32:13 GMT

Suppose some savvy programmer who wrote the RNG program. Already installed a program to spit out his numbers on certain calendar days he/she could have programmed a whole range of numbers. Kept a record of the days and on those days go out a buy a bunch of numbers for that draw. Nobody would be the wiser except him/her.

When Tennessee lottery showed a video of the RNG system there were cables going to and from the computer. These cables looked like modem connections to me.

What a... [ More ]

Reply #19

jwhou — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 19:59:38 GMT

I do find the transition to computerized draws disturbing because of the lack of transparency. There are ways to safeguard against tampering, the computer image could be securely kept and the MD5 checksum of it widely published. Indeed the software should be available for download and auditing in source code form. The machine used to run the software can also be securely kept and shouldn't be networked. The checksum of the software and the condition of the machine can be verified by an independe... [ More ]

Reply #18

Jack Pot — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 16:00:14 GMT

Pumpi, please read your bank statement. Every deposit or withdrawal you make- is automatically added or subtracted from the current balance. The name of the business is going to be there. How can anyone hack 2 cents without you knowing it

Reply #17

Stack47 — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 14:24:49 GMT

Your brother probably knew someone that said they hack into the US Army payroll, just like when someone told me they hacked into the Pentagon computer's top secret files. When I asked what they saw, they said a whole bunch of stuff without going into any details as if I was gullible enough to believe that proved they actually did it.

Had you said a hacker could get a $1 from 100 people working for a small business where payroll is done by the owner's not so smart brother-in-law, it could be p... [ More ]

Reply #16

rdgrnr — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 07:26:01 GMT

Anybody who did that to the US Army should be in jail with Manuel Noriega.

Reply #15

pumpi76 — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 02:46:34 GMT

my brother knew a hacker in the army who did that to the USA Army...

Reply #14

jump1900 — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 02:42:59 GMT

Im glad to see that NC is in the 100% bracket....anything less i will quit

Reply #13

Stack47 — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 02:24:35 GMT

So that's where the two pennies I had my desk went.

How can the hackers hack 2 cents from my paycheck

Reply #12

pumpi76 — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 19:13:12 GMT

i apologize for deviating from the subject...But anyways, hackers dont need to hack grandiosily anything...For instance hackers if they were to collect: 2 pennies every paycheck from: 20 million people for 2 years they will have: 20 million dollars...in 5 years...50 million dollars...Again just 2 pennies...if they WANTED TO.. they could place those 50 million in the bank at: 6% or whatever percentage and in 20 years they will have: $60 million dollars extra..so that will be: 60 million + 50 mill... [ More ]

Reply #11

four4me — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 18:52:09 GMT

The governments best hackers are the ones they busted and put to work for them.

Despite what people think we are the richest country in the world paying millions and billions is nothing to them. We throw money around like it was water.

You shouldn't be worried what the Pentagon is doing, what they do is mostly secret and unless you work for them or with them it's best to just sit back and see what unfolds. Prying into the Pentagon's business could result in the secret service paying you a... [ More ]

Reply #10

pepper1 — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 18:41:28 GMT

Best prayer I've heard all year........

Reply #9

pumpi76 — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 18:35:33 GMT

we dont know what the pentagon will do? The Pentagon pays: evil militias who have turn good to turn on alquaida IN THE BILLIONS...It did this like 2 or 3 times in Irak and Afganistan it came out on the news...If they can do that what makes you think they cant pay hackers to turn over their secrets...For instance...If the pentagon doesnt pay hackers: let us say 70 million dollars and hackers make an entire state or 2 state have a blackout for 2 days, what happens? The states just like $250 millio... [ More ]

Reply #8

GASMETERGUY — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 17:07:40 GMT

I stopped playing the Tennessee Lotto when they went to computerized drawings for the reasons Todd mentioned. There is just too much hidden from the public's view.

I do not believe the games are fair. Winning a jackpot with the odds the way they are is extremely difficult. Imagine your chances should the State manipulate those drawing behind closed doors.

Reply #7

PERDUE — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 16:12:48 GMT

WHY!! WHY!! WHY!!

WHY COULD I NOT HAVE THE COMPLETE GENIUS SMARTS OF A COMPUTER HACKER???????!!!!!

Dear All Knowing-Thinking Substance:

All I desire for Christmas is to be a computer hacker genius that never gets caught. I would also desire the uncanny skills to hack any computer and not leave a trace of my visit. I promise to use my skills to help my fellow lottery players win some extra money every month and struggling homeowners keep their homes. I promise not to draw any attent... [ More ]

Reply #6

thudpucker — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 14:13:00 GMT

Those posts are good logical posts.

The thing we can do as players, is stop playing the states with the RANDUM and stick with the ping pong balls.

Reply #5

Todd — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 13:03:25 GMT

Nice post. The thing is, there is an alarming number of states that don't use real mechanical drawings -- they use computers. (Click State Lottery Report Card in the Results menu to see which ones.)

To say that no drawing has been hacked may be true among states with real drawings (save the single incident in Pennsylvania many years ago), but with computerized drawings the fact is we just don't know.

The only thing we know for sure is that major incidents have occurred, some existing for s... [ More ]

Reply #4

thudpucker — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 12:02:04 GMT

This 'Hacking' possibility is one real good reason for Ping pong balls instead of Computer Random number drawings.

Reply #3

diamondpalace — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 01:46:53 GMT

Jesus is one step ahead of the lotto. Jesus the hacker that is...

Reply #2

pepper1 — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 01:15:22 GMT

You're right. Most hacker will show the government to keep from going to jail. Pump you got to much tie on your hand.

Reply #1

jwhou — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 22:56:05 GMT

That's ridiculous, for one, the draw lotteries use physical machines to draw their balls. The most common being the gravity type where carefully stored sets of measured and weighed balls are agitated by paddles rotating in opposite directions and when a door is open at the bottom of the device, a measured number of balls exit the machine for display. There's no random number generator involved. Cracking a RNG seed is pointless without knowing which RNG algorithm is being used, many simple RNG al... [ More ]

ARe Hackers 1 step ahead in the lotto??I always had a hunch..

pumpi76 — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 06:51:00 GMT

Check this clip from youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F30NbJChNTI

Listen to the part where the black guy in the begining is talking about:

We are not going to try we are going to hack it

oh we are going to use a software that is available on the internet that is free...And then he goes on and say:

there are plenty of programs that can crack passcodes...and then he says:

it just cracked this person passcode or encryption code : and look at those numbers: 43, 52, 41,