Tampering with the easy targets

Ben Smith, Maxim Integrated
embedded.com (October 05, 2014)

In 1964 International Business Machines (IBM) announced its System/360. It was by no means the first computer, but it was one of the most popular, with thousands delivered between 1965 and 1978. It was considered state of the art when introduced, with medium-range systems sporting 128KB to 512KB of memory and a throughput of about 0.3MIPS.

The system was large—multiple cabinets contained auxiliary storage, communications equipment, and peripheral components—and required specialized power and cooling. These machines were tended by a highly trained cadre of computer operators, and unless you had a good reason to be there, you did not easily gain access to the ‘machine room’. These rooms had the very best security: multiple physical locks and humorless men guarding the door.

These machines managed millions of financial transactions, making them a ripe target for criminals wishing to tap that flow of money. But tampering with these machines was virtually impossible. All transactions were secure because the machines themselves were physically secure behind glass-walled machine rooms.

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