Should You Hire a Hacker?

fabioj writes "Business Week has an article about today's debate at the RSA Security Conference held at the Moscone Center attended by Kevin Mitnick and his 1995 trial prosecutor, Christopher Painter. Interesting to note that Painter doesn't see Kevin Mitnick's experiences as a deterrent for the 'up-and-coming technology workforce' to criminally hack."

Comments

catch me if you can

[SethJohnson]

I don't think Mitnick is such a good representative for this issue. Probably a better example of 'hacker' turned security expert is that guy who the 'Catch me if You Can' movie is based on ( Frank Abgnale). The FBI sprung him from jail in order for him to help them combat check fraud. Apparently, he's now responsible for designing many of the anti-counterfitting mechanisms built into our checks even today.

Re:Both sides of the story

[teamhasnoi]

And a convicted (now reformed) pedophile might know a lot about taking care of kids. I still wouldn't hire them to run daycare.

What!? And miss out on that one-on-one attention?

Let it be known across the lands that this man has said loudly what we all have feared! Hacking is like having sex with kids! Beware! Begone!

Re:A criminal is a criminal

[abulafia]

Gotta love the anonymous coward who had a problem with it supporting someone who doesn't want anonymous communications.

Rant Redux

[limekiller4]

I don't know if I should hire a hacker but I do know that Slashdot should hire a copy editor.

Re:Rant Redux

[SmartGamer]

I think they do. It seems that all the articles are copied from yesterday.

Not really a repeat... but kinda

[poppen_fresh]

This isn't a repeat of the earlier /. post. That one linked to security focus and this one links to business week. But the business week article is just a reprint of the security focus article...

Ethical Dilemma

[DASHSL0T]

If I re-post all the +5 comments on this issue from the previous article, am I more or less honest than a convicted cracker? And if it works, and my karma goes through the roof, can I ever be reformed from karma-whoring or will I forver be branded the cut-and-paste king?

Re:dupe

[bsharitt]

Shut up, I missed it the first time!

Sounds Like He is Management Material

[yintercept]

I for one as a honest person am tired of hearing about this frickin criminal! Yes! Criminal!

Sounds like this Mitnick guy is management material. Criminal action shows initiative. It shows that he will do what it takes to get ahead.

Most of our society looks at the criminal as a superior form of being not tied to the conventionalities of the honest man (ie peasant). But there is a big problem with that getting caught thing. If he was a criminal who hadn't been caught...well, there is there is no end to how far he could go in the American corporate structure.

Who knows, he could have been CEO? I suspect most CEOs have done far worse things than Kevin Mittnick on their back stabbing drives for power. Unfortunately, there is a gentleman's agreement on being caught, tried and covicted.

Hiring a felon might get people looking closer at what companies actually do, and how the insiders funnel off profits. It would be far too risky to hire the man.

Dupe of Earl

[Anonymous Coward]

Dupe Dupe Dupe
Dupe of Earl
Dupe Dupe
Dupe of Earl
Dupe Dupe
Dupe of Earl
Dupe Dupe

whe-en I-eee waaaalk though this world
nothin can stop me, I'm the Dupe
I walk free-eely in my Dupedom
Cause nothin' can stop me, I'm the dupe of earl.

Maybe it's not a dupe, maybe it's a Poll Collision?

Personally, I like dupes... things should be considered more than once. Two closely spaced conversation reveal another dimension, the dimension of time, the fluctuflowations of the think.

But then, that's because,

I'm the Dupe of Earl
And you-uuu will be the Duchess in my Dupedome,
And nothing will stop us, from duuupin' agaaaain.