Sarah Palin's E-Mail Hacked: How It Was Done

Wired reported Thursday how Sarah Palin's email got hacked — a simple trip through Yahoo's "Forgot My Password" function:

A person claiming to be the hacker who obtained access to Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's private Yahoo e-mail on Tuesday has posted a supposed first-person account of the hack, revealing the relatively simple steps he says he took to crack the private e-mail of the Republican vice-presidential candidate.

The story was briefly posted Wednesday to the 4chan forum where the hack first surfaced. Bloggers have connected the handle of the poster, "Rubico," to an e-mail address, and tentatively identified the owner as a college student in Tennessee.

Threat Level was unable to reach the student by phone because his number is unlisted. A person who identified himself as the student's father, when reached at home, said he could not talk about the matter and would have no comment. The father is a Democratic state representative in Tennessee. Threat Level is not identifying them by name because authorities have not identified any suspects in the case, and the link to the student so far is tenuous.

As detailed in the postings, the Palin hack didn't require any real skill. Instead, the hacker simply reset Palin's password using her birthdate, ZIP code and information about where she met her spouse -- the security question on her Yahoo account, which was answered (Wasilla High) by a simple Google search.

Below, a step-by-step guide to how easy it was to reset the Governor's password — given how public her birthday and zip code are, and the relative ease of her secret question:

Step 1: Pretend You Can't Access Alternate E-Mail Address

Step 2: Quickly Google Sarah's Birthdate, Wasilla Zip Code

Step 3: Guess Where Sarah & Todd Met

Step 4: Voila! Reset Your Password

Comments

[DavidBlackburn]

I'm not sure I would consider this hacking, since it doesn't really take any other expertise than reading Governor Palins bio on Wikipedia. It was more of an invitation from Governor Palin for anyone that really cared to read some of the official business of the State of Alaska.

After such negligence in guarding something as simple as Alaskan state business, who on earth would trust Governor Palin to protect us from terrorists?

[wdw101]

do you honestly feel the need for protection from terrorist.......i don't.........there are roughly 300000000 in this country and they killed 3000......the day after.......i still felt safe.........i live in Ohio.....outside of the effect on my stock and FedEx not flying..........it did not effect me.......granted i was watching it on the news......but it was a long way from Ohio.........the knee jerk reaction of this country went to far......in the 70s if a plane was taken you stay quiet until the police negotiate the release of the passengers.......no one died as a general rule in US hijackings.......no one could take a plane using just a box cutter the passengers now have a different mindset and would not tolerate it..........the hijacker would not survive.........just as no one could hijack a plane using a knitting needle or nail clippers......yet you can't bring these items on a plane........that is stupid.........

then you worry about palin making you feel safer wow........i don't need her to make me feel safe at all.......that being said i will be voting McCain by default ........as there is no one else with policies i will tolerate.........

[wdw101]

do you honestly feel the need for protection from terrorist.......i don't.........there are roughly 300000000 in this country and they killed 3000......the day after.......i still felt safe.........i live in Ohio.....outside of the effect on my stock and FedEx not flying..........it did not effect me.......granted i was watching it on the news......but it was a long way from Ohio.........the knee jerk reaction of this country went to far......in the 70s if a plane was taken you stay quiet until the police negotiate the release of the passengers.......no one died as a general rule in US hijackings.......no one could take a plane using just a box cutter the passengers now have a different mindset and would not tolerate it..........the hijacker would not survive.........just as no one could hijack a plane using a knitting needle or nail clippers......yet you can't bring these items on a plane........that is stupid.........

then you worry about palin making you feel safer wow........i don't need her to make me feel safe at all.......that being said i will be voting McCain by default ........as there is no one else with policies i will tolerate

[RepublicanForObama]

Do you even understand the differences between the canidate?
I am 60 years old. I share some wisdom. Be careful of what you wish for.
If a Govenor can't follow the rules of her state office, what makes you think she will follow the rules of our Nation......ie, our Constitution.
Bush and Chaney have proven that they do not. You can not convince me that McCain or Palin will do the same. They currently show that they can't even tell the truth or even play nice.
Do you know about McCain history as on of the Keating Five that led to the government bailing out the Savings and Loans in the 80s. If you do, then being a crook and running the government is OK with you.
I more than anyone would like a woman in the Whilte House.....just no this one. She is a disgrace to women of my age. She has sold her sole to a man in the name of fame and glory. Subjugation of women again by a man....with the concent of a woman.

[deliriousgod]

at least the skill-testing question wasn't : "Who's that baby's daddy?"

[ggm1957]

That's a good one!

[nomoreofthesame]

The republicans are out smarted by a teenaged and then cry boohoo when their crimes are revealed.

[RiseHillary]

The son of state Rep. Mike Kernell has been contacted by authorities in connection with a probe into the hacking of personal e-mail of vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, Kernell told The Tennessean.

Kernell, a Memphis Democrat, said his 20-year-old son David had been contacted by authorities investigating the hacking of Palin"s personal e-mail account, the newspaper reported on its Web site this afternoon.

The FBI and the Secret Service started a formal investigation Wednesday into the hacking, according to the Associated Press.

[wdw101]

good

[IslandGyal]

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[obamasOHangel]

Governor Palin just issued a statement that said, "Drat! I'm switching to Gmail"

[ramblingjohnny]

And if elected she is going to get one of the highest security clearance in the country! Way to protect the country John you really know how to pick them!

[VOTER]

Don't worry.

Sarah's Dude will be there to handle everything.

Also, her coaching buddies from Alaska..........................

Feel better?

[keepacoolhead]

All this reaks of the same Republican methods used in the White House. Remember they were using the non-White House email accounts and let emails disappear???

[milo h minderbinder]

Yep. There are actually emails from her staff collected by investigators which discuss whether or not doing email on an outside system like yahoo would keep them safe from subpoenas.

[ggm1957]

I think it is ridiculous if she can do all this slimy stuff and not get subpoenaed. Kudos to the hacker. I think the person should be praised, not prosecuted. This information should have come out. With all the invasion of privacy going on by our government - in the name of protection - why would her emails regarding state business be safe? It doesn't say much for our authorities in power to have this much leeway.

[uclafan]

I cannot believe she uses Yahoo for Government business.

[MBMease]

Although I do not agree with hacking (I am a Security Analyst) I will say if you set your house alarm to your husbands birthday then do not be surprised if your house is broken into. Same with Yahoo, if you are going to create an account with your name and state that you are govenor and also state in the media you use this mail for official business to circumvent your states laws for retention...Hey Enjoy the National Attention....HAHA