Hundreds of students hacked the website of takeaway meals firm Just Eat to con the company out of thousands of euros.
Students in the Dutch cities of Groningen, Utrecht and Breukelen exploited a flaw in the Just Eat website that allowed them to change the total on their bill at the end of their order. This meant they could order as many pizzas and kebabs as they could eat for just a few cents. Confirming the report in De Telegraaf newspaper, Just Eat’s director said the company has now plugged the leak.
Just Eat’s website features a choice of hundreds of different restaurants. Customers can have their orders delivered to their home and pay online by direct debit, so there was no need for the hungry students to pay cash on delivery.
The only flaw in the hackers’ strategy was that Just Eat has a record of their names, addresses and bank details. The company is now trying to claim back 30,000 euros in unpaid bills. Up to now it has received just 1,500 euros.
Flickr/Adam Kuban
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This scheme gives hackers a bad name. It was merely exploiting a security flaw, and a very stupid way of doing it too, because it can all be traced back at the "hackers" via their bank info. Real hackers are very well trained people, with programming, Data Recovery, security systems, hardware and software skills.
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