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1247 points mangoman | 2 comments | 05 Dec 16 14:57 UTC | HN request time: 0.429s | source
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SCHiM ◴[05 Dec 16 15:33 UTC] No.13106003[source]▶
Haha yes, hackers are going to have a field day with this!! I'm sure it's good enough for users which don't actively try to game the system through technical means, but I suspect it won't stand a chance against someone who's taken the time to understand and undermine the system.

On another more on-topic note, what an awesome time to be alive! :) When I was younger concepts like this were usually paired with flying cars and space travel in cartoons, but now it's real.

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TulliusCicero ◴[05 Dec 16 15:46 UTC] No.13106115[source]▶
Ah yes, I'm sure there'll be legions of hackers stealing groceries in meatspace for kicks while being watched by multitudes of cameras.
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1. SCHiM ◴[05 Dec 16 16:08 UTC] No.13106328[source]▶
Heh your definition of the word hacker is way too narrow if you think all we're doing to sitting around behind screens all day spouting 31337 sp34k on the interwebz.

No, you're wrong. If it can be done it will be done. It's just too much reward versus the risk. Stealing this way scales too well. In a normal shop the risk of detection is variable, and therefore higher on average. Sometimes people will be alert, sometimes not, sometimes there will be guards sometimes not. Now this is different, it's all down to following the correct number of steps to get the desired results.

If you replace these two stickers, now scan this then switch this...

It'll be down to a few bits in some chip somewhere that decides how much you need to be billed. I'm sure it won't hurt adoption or even lead to a significant increase in lost merchandise, but I'm equally sure it will happen.

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2. TulliusCicero ◴[05 Dec 16 16:38 UTC] No.13106639[source]▶
Sure a few will do it for fun. Most won't though, because it's still stealing things and there'll be a non-trivial chance of getting caught.