How one hacker exposed thousands of insecure desktops that anyone can remotely view
Imagine being given the keys to the internet. One minute you could be looking at a building's air conditioning panel, a pharmacist's inventory, and a Windows programmer's console, and the next minute it's a school administrator's email inbox, and a touch-screen toilet customer satisfaction monitor (which, sadly isn't a joke).
Give it time, and you'll likely land on something more sinister, like the desktop belonging to a receptionist in a pediatrician's office, and you're looking at their screen which is packed with patients' names, addresses, dates of birth, and parents' phone numbers.
It's a whole new meaning to the "open" internet, and one you wouldn't want to be on the wrong side of. It's not only possible, but it's been happening for a while. Thousands of screenshots have been collected and uploaded to a website called VNC Roulette, which shows a snapshot in time of a random internet-connected desktop.
