2014-04-26 10:52:28 -04:00
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dumpster diving
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2014-04-26 11:54:15 -04:00
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/dump'ster di:ving/ , n. 1. The practice of sifting refuse from an office or
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technical installation to extract confidential data, especially
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security-compromising information ( dumpster is an Americanism for what is
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elsewhere called a skip ). Back in AT T's monopoly days, before paper
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shredders became common office equipment, phone phreaks (see phreaking )
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used to organize regular dumpster runs against phone company plants and
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offices. Discarded and damaged copies of AT T internal manuals taught them
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much. The technique is still rumored to be a favorite of crackers operating
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against careless targets. 2. The practice of raiding the dumpsters behind
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buildings where producers and/or consumers of high-tech equipment are
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located, with the expectation (usually justified) of finding discarded but
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still-valuable equipment to be nursed back to health in some hacker's den.
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Experienced dumpster-divers not infrequently accumulate basements full of
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moldering (but still potentially useful) cruft.
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