Toying with barcodes – or hacking systems that use barcodes.

Posted by Bill

June 2, 2009

As I was browsing the web today for an online barcode generator I came across this video titled “Toying with barcodes”. The video starts out pretty mundane. Just a basic overview of barcodes and barcode scanner types. It then morphs into a discussion about how people have hacked into various systems that use or misuse barcodes. Being the barcode geek that I am, I had to sit and watch all 45 minutes of this.

If you’re really into barcodes and you’ve got nothing better to do you should have a listen. That is if you can get past the 8 billion ummmms this guy says. But I give him credit. He’s a nerdy German guy that speaks pretty good English. Kind of sounds like Arnold Schwarzenegger talking about barcodes – otherwise known as the barco-nator :-)

I certainly don’t advocate doing any of the things he’s done. But I’ll definitely start looking at barcodes in a whole new light. For all the years I worked as a support engineer for barcode scanners and data collection systems, I never even considered any of the things this guy is talking about. If I find any vulnerabilities I’ll post them to this blog someday.

So kill some time, get a laugh now and then, and even think about barcodes in a whole new light. This video should be especially helpful for people designing systems that utilize barcodes.