# Real-world Ruby?

**URL:** <https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/real-world-ruby/91832>\
**Category:** Ruby\
**Created:** [April 12, 2007, 6:39pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/real-world-ruby/91832 "2007-04-12T18:39:41Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![timhunter](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/71e660/32.png) [@timhunter](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/timhunter)\
**Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 6:39pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/real-world-ruby/91832/1 "2007-04-12T18:39:41Z")

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Slashdot is currently featuring a story called “Boarding Pass Hacker  
Targets Bank of America”  
([Boarding Pass Hacker Targets Bank of America - Slashdot](http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/04/12/1444204)), which links to  
an entry in the “slight paranoia” blog  
([slight paranoia: A Deceit-Augmented Man In The Middle Attack Against Bank of America's SiteKey ® Service](http://paranoia.dubfire.net/2007/04/deceit-augmented-man-in-middle-attack.html))  
about a demonstration phishing attack against the SiteKey service used  
by Bank of America and other financial web sites.

About halfway down in the blog entry is this explanation:

“Our demonstration is based on a concise 130 line ruby script that  
carries out this attack and that could be written by a phisher with  
average skills and in a relatively short time.”

I guess this is evidence of use of Ruby in the enterprise, or at least  
use of Ruby by enterprising phishers 🙂

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**Author:** ![timhunter](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/71e660/32.png) [@timhunter](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/timhunter)\
**Post date:** [April 13, 2007, 1:12pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/real-world-ruby/91832/2 "2007-04-13T13:12:55Z")

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On 12 Apr 2007, at 17:39, Tim H. wrote:

> “Our demonstration is based on a concise 130 line ruby script that  
> carries out this attack and that could be written by a phisher with  
> average skills and in a relatively short time.”
> 
> I guess this is evidence of use of Ruby in the enterprise, or at least  
> use of Ruby by enterprising phishers 🙂

You mean there are phishers who can code?  
Or is this proof that Ruby really is useable by anyone?

Ellie

## Eleanor McHugh Games With Brains

raise ArgumentError unless @reality.responds\_to? :reason

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**Author:** ![timhunter](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/71e660/32.png) [@timhunter](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/timhunter)\
**Post date:** [April 13, 2007, 2:30pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/real-world-ruby/91832/3 "2007-04-13T14:30:47Z")

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Eleanor McHugh wrote:

> On 12 Apr 2007, at 17:39, Tim H. wrote:
> 
> > “Our demonstration is based on a concise 130 line ruby script that  
> > carries out this attack and that could be written by a phisher with  
> > average skills and in a relatively short time.”
> > 
> > I guess this is evidence of use of Ruby in the enterprise, or at least  
> > use of Ruby by enterprising phishers 🙂
> 
> You mean there are phishers who can code?  
> Or is this proof that Ruby really is useable by anyone?
> 
> Ellie
> 
> ## Eleanor McHugh Games With Brains
> 
> raise ArgumentError unless @reality.responds\_to? :reason

thank you Mr. Hunter… my worst fears come true… THE BIGGEST BADEST  
thing for ruby is that this language is/going to be equated with  
hakers!!! having read Bruce Tate’s From Jave to Ruby… an already  
precarious would-be acceptance of ruby by way of it’s slow infusion into  
the enterprise by successfull sideline projects will be DASH altogether  
by accounts of how EASY hakers can use it against the enterprise…Dam  
it i chose ruby because i need to get things quick and easy to fight my  
fires here

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**Author:** ![timhunter](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/71e660/32.png) [@timhunter](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/timhunter)\
**Post date:** [April 13, 2007, 3:16pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/real-world-ruby/91832/4 "2007-04-13T15:16:32Z")

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On 13 Apr 2007, at 13:30, Dave R. wrote:

> fires here  
> Well conversely anything that gives ‘hackers’[1] so much potential  
> power should be on the radar of every major corporation.

Ellie  
[1] The usual disclaimers about this use of the term apply:

I am a Hacker.  
They are criminal mutant scum.  
Your mileage may vary

Being and Doing are merely useful abstractions for the ‘time’-  
dependent asymmetries of phase space.