<story><title>Socially Engineering Myself into High Security Facilities</title><url>https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/qv34zb/how-i-socially-engineer-myself-into-high-security-facilities</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>madmax108</author><text>In my office complex, we have a bunch of security guards who _check_ badges of people who enter the building (My building houses about 8-9 companies). If you don&amp;#x27;t have a badge then the guard calls the office you claim to be part of to ensure you have access, and then issues a temp badge.&lt;p&gt;A couple months ago, I forgot my badge at home, but didn&amp;#x27;t want to go through the hassle of getting a temp badge, so I flashed my driver&amp;#x27;s license at the guard (which is roughly the same size as my ID badge) and he simply waved me through.&lt;p&gt;I told my colleagues this, and since then we have a silly game where we try to get in using ridiculous cards. Most recently, we have people who have flashed blood donation cards (a card that acknowledges that you donated blood on so and so date), a credit card and a folded bookmark and successfully gotten into the complex.&lt;p&gt;While this is a running joke, really goes to show how lax manual security can be (Especially because once you are on my floor, you can easily tailgate your way into my office).&lt;p&gt;TL;DR Most of our security systems work on implicit trust more than anything else.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>bobbinsbob</author><text>I used to be a security guard after I left the army (no skills in civvi street to get a better job).&lt;p&gt;Couple of things come to mind reading this. One that security guard is probably getting paid a pittance to do that job and you get what you pay for. Two the guard recognises you and your colleagues, knows you work there and doesn&amp;#x27;t really care that you&amp;#x27;re playing silly games because on their wage it&amp;#x27;s not worth the hassle pulling you up for you to get all high and mighty about the inconvenience of a lowly security guard daring to question you. Three that single guard, whilst ostensibly there for &amp;quot;security&amp;quot; is really just there for show, there&amp;#x27;s no way a single lowly paid guard can possibly provide security for a building housing 8 or 9 companies even with the best intentions.&lt;p&gt;My experience as a guard was that the employees of the companies within the building treated me with contemptuous distain until something happened at which point it was righteous anger.</text></comment>
<story><title>Socially Engineering Myself into High Security Facilities</title><url>https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/qv34zb/how-i-socially-engineer-myself-into-high-security-facilities</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>madmax108</author><text>In my office complex, we have a bunch of security guards who _check_ badges of people who enter the building (My building houses about 8-9 companies). If you don&amp;#x27;t have a badge then the guard calls the office you claim to be part of to ensure you have access, and then issues a temp badge.&lt;p&gt;A couple months ago, I forgot my badge at home, but didn&amp;#x27;t want to go through the hassle of getting a temp badge, so I flashed my driver&amp;#x27;s license at the guard (which is roughly the same size as my ID badge) and he simply waved me through.&lt;p&gt;I told my colleagues this, and since then we have a silly game where we try to get in using ridiculous cards. Most recently, we have people who have flashed blood donation cards (a card that acknowledges that you donated blood on so and so date), a credit card and a folded bookmark and successfully gotten into the complex.&lt;p&gt;While this is a running joke, really goes to show how lax manual security can be (Especially because once you are on my floor, you can easily tailgate your way into my office).&lt;p&gt;TL;DR Most of our security systems work on implicit trust more than anything else.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>shubb</author><text>Devils advocate, they might simply know your face.&lt;p&gt;I worked in a 5000 person building for a year, left, and went back a year later for a christmas party. The shared reception still remembered who I was without being told and were able to guess who I was visiting.</text></comment>