Slashdot Mirror
Hacker U.
Karma 50 writes: "What is claimed to be the world's first school for "hackers" has recently opened in Paris. Run by the magazine hackerz voice, for $60 or so you will be taught the fine art of breaking into systems. Google will do some translation of the course details. The local police are said to be "watching the school with interest"."
and then go to France to learn how to hack.
What next???
I'm french, and I can tell you this school is nothing but shit.
... What they do is using nmap or nessus, nothing else.It's just a script kiddie school...
I saw a news on french TV about this school, and I was sad to see that some "serious people" thought it was hacking.
Want to know their level ? They made an "introduction to linux"
French people are not stupid, there are stupid people everywhere, please don't take care of these script kiddies.
What a joke. That school is nothing but a bunch of wannabe haXor script kiddies. All their classes are for newbies and I'm certain that's all they'll get - a bunch of 14 year old newbies.
:-P pppft, if you're just learning linux now, maybe you'll be a hacker in 3-4 years. Being an elite haX0r isn't about taking a class, its about pushing yourself to learn crazy computer stuff that normal people wouldn't have the motivation to do.
Yay! I want to take their $60 introduction to Linux class
Here we also have schools where people learn basic system intrusion techniques and run around acting "l33t". They're called high schools.
They're teaching the fine art of "hacking", which is according to them, "breaking into systems". The true term for that is "cracking", and if they don't know the proper name of what they are teaching, how can anyone possibly take them seriously about the content they are teaching?
Also, I would think that "the fine art of hacking" would cost more to learn than a mere $60.
Hacking is a Good Thing. It teaches skills and leads to important security holes being filled. By learning about these holes, everyone benefits with the joys of greater knowledge (wooo! Alturistic :) ) But there are already places where you can learn hacking. They call themselves: Universities.
A lot of courses (at least the ones I have seen) provide a foundation in how to hack, simply because it is the only way to make sure that any systems you create are secure, and tests new technology as well. For example, I've seen two Universites here in the UK that do this. At the University of Bristol, they are researching into how to hack smart chips, whilst University of Nottingham let you try and hack their network. Of course, this is all built into a well-rounded course teaching students Computer Science.
Where does that leave the idea of "hacking schools"? It puts them quite definitely in the malicious camp. If these people were hacking to increase their skills, they would be taught other things at the same time (ala University). But this "school" is starting people out with hacking, and giving a few lessons in C and Linux for those that don't know. It's not about being a better computer user, it's about being a better hacker, which can only be used for the more nefarious of purposes.
but this would be considered a Cracking school, not a Hacking school. A Hacking school would teach logic, problem solving, and finding unusual solutions to everyday problems. If we expect the public to differentiate the two, we have to lead by example.
...which teaches you, amongst other things, how to invent false credit card details and fiddle your mobile phone bills.
...if you want to pay by credit card, do it over the phone.
Furthermore, I find this article to be full of horrible and misleading information.
At the end, they hope to have improved their "white hat" or good pirate - skills.
Ok... What exactly is a 'good pirate'? For that matter, how does piracy (or hacking for that matter) even enter into this article.
Nevertheless, "Clad" is adamant that he teaches only ethical hacking skills.
Umm... Yeah. Right. There are perfectly ethical reasons to do these things.
"For me", he says, "it is enough to know I can break into a system, without crossing the line into illegality."
Breaking into a system is illegal. Even if it's not in the country where you live, there is no way that it's ethical. But at least the article presents a consenting view on this.
Hacking is illegal.
That's like saying thinking is illegal.
"I teach them ethical values," Clad Strife told me. "It's not my responsibility if they use my information to do something illegal at home.
I disagree. If you teach a trade that is very likely to be used for malice, it is your responsibility to make sure that you teach it to people who will not misuse it. For example, in the U.S. military, there are weeks of training in which discipline is taught. We don't just give anyone machine guns and send them off. If you were teaching bomb making to your neighbors, you would be a bit more caring to make sure that they behave responsible!
"[Cracking] is not fundamentally illegal. After all, when you're driving a car, you can knock someone over and kill them, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't be allowed to have driving lessons, does it?"
Umm... No. Your argument does not hold up. Using the logic in reverse you see the flaws. "Hitting people with cars is not fundamentally illegal. After all, when you surf the internet, you might break into someone's computer. But that doesn't mean that people shouldn't be taught to use the computer, does it?" That's just rediculous.
Anyone sending these KIDS their credit card numbers has more to worry about than whether the internet or phone is more secure.
As the school's website says, paying over the internet isn't secure.
Yeah. You wouldn't want the wrong people to have your credit card number! ROFLMAO.
This school of H4X0Rs is to legit hacking what icyhotstuntaz are to legit rap.
See the comparison for yourself:
http://stuntaz.cjb.net/
Better yet, don't. Just forget about it....
Hackers already have a school. Its called University and Computer Science. I would call that Scr1pt k1dd13 school.
This is just great. Anyone who has read Hackerz V0ice once knows they are just a bunch of lamerz who think they are the master of the Internet just because they know how to use Back Orrifice.
e adid=22
Hackerz V0ice (the magazine) is a piece of crap explaining how to use 3 years old "exploits" (hear : "windows trojans") in s0M Scr1Pt K1dY l4n64g3 50 FuL of M15T4kz I have to re-read sentences twice to understand what they mean.
The best part is that they think the represent the french "kackerz" (as if these guys were hackers) and advise anyone to rally their "movment". They want to be the french CCC, but they are just another group of computer illeterates who are trying to make money out of the Lin00X/Int3rn3T/conspir4Cy/"Micr0S0ft Sux" trend.
To bad only french sites talk about this magazine, you'll have to use babelfish, but *please* have a look at :
- http://www.kitetoa.com/_disc1/showthread.php3?thr
- news:fr.comp.securite
The original reads well. You're reading machine-translated colloquial Parisian French.
call it cracking.
Sorry if there's a zero-body post, but I hit
the return button while still in Subject line.
It's called cracking, and not hacking, for
certain reasons which all are outlined in the
Jargon file at http://www.ccil.org/jargon/
and for which its author has my full ACK.
My Karma isn't excellent, damn it! (And
What`s much funnier than this course are the snobbish comments coming from many Slashdot posters. Almost all attacks on systems come from so called script kiddies i.e. someone who didn`t work out the security flaw themselves. How many Slashdot posters have actually broken into a system without using some prior knowledge gleaned from another programmer - if it`s one percent I`d be more than surprised.