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A comment on Berkeley HS student tried to rig his own election, exposing cybersecurity flaws. Parent comment

Re:Berkeley HS student tried to rig his own election, exposi... by ska on Tuesday April 09, 2019 @03:47PM (#19618278) 

   Why is this such a common thing?
Short answer I suspect is old systems with complicated dependencies.
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Re:Berkeley HS student tried to rig his own election, exposi... by tuzakey on Tuesday April 09, 2019 @06:30PM (#19619621)
In my experience with banks that did this it was to allow a mapping to 10digit keypads for bank by phone access. I haven't tried it recently, and they allow complex passwords now. When I noticed this several years ago I was able to log into my bank account via the website with the 10digit equivalent password. At least your bank balance is insured...
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Re:Berkeley HS student tried to rig his own election, exposi... by lwansbrough on Tuesday April 09, 2019 @03:54PM (#19618324)
Even so, you could hash the password somehow in order to produce the number, which then goes into that old system.
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Re:Berkeley HS student tried to rig his own election, exposi... by ska on Tuesday April 09, 2019 @03:59PM (#19618371)
There are always engineering solutions to such things, but I don't think most of the decisions are made in terms of "it's possible". There is always a risk/reward conversation, and a lot of conservatism in systems currently processing a large number of transaction and/or $ successfully. Perceived risk may or may not be analyzed correctly, mind.
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Re:Berkeley HS student tried to rig his own election, exposi... by mavhc on Tuesday April 09, 2019 @04:19PM (#19618534)
You'd think when they have all the money the risk would be really high
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