war texting
pp. Using text messages to break into a remote system such as an automobile or a GPS tracking device.
Also Seen As
war-textingwartexting
Other Forms
war texter n.
Examples
2011
Researchers at iSec Partners, a cybersecurity consultancy, have shown how a car’s wireless connections can be exploited, using a technique known as war texting, to break into a vehicle. Continuing to gather information about a car and maintain a two-way connection, some might argue, may leave owners vulnerable to new threats.
—John R. Quain, “Changes to OnStar’s Privacy Terms Rile Some Users,” The New York Times, September 22, 2011
2011
With the Zoombak device, Bailey was able to discover the tracking devices, profile them, using what he calls "war texting," to intercept their location. Zoombak uses a Web 2.0 interface that provides a map showing the GPS-equipped person or payload's physical location. The devices receive commands via SMS text messages.
—Kelly Jackson Higgins, “Weaponizing GPS Tracking Devices,” Dark Reading, April 22, 2011
2011 (earliest)
Enter, War Texting
* Spam thousands of numbers with our SMS payload
* Wait patiently, serving on port 7276
* Log all incoming requests
* Analyze location data
—Don Bailey, “A Million Little Tracking Devices: Turning Embedded Devices into Weapons” (PDF), iSEC Partners, April 21, 2011
Notes
War texting (brought to my attention by Wired magazine's Jonathon Keats, with thanks) is a play on the older term war driving, which is itself a play on war dialing: automatically calling thousands of telephone numbers to look for any that have a modem attached.
Posted: November 15, 2011