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Canadian University to Begin Training Hackers

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the learning-from-the-other-side dept.

torok writes "According to an article at The Edmonton Journal, The University of Calgary is going to start teaching select computer science students to write software viruses in a special new disconnected lab. Will Canada be accused of training the world's next generation of cyber-terrorists... or peacekeepers?"

10 of 350 comments (clear)

  1. They might be accused... by MattCohn.com · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I'm sure they will be ACCUSED of it, but I think everyone here sees the real reason. How can you know how to secure your systems if you don't know what the virus writers are doing?

    And I'm sure that a select number of people will use this information maliciously, but everything comes at a cost. I don't think it would be a good idea if no one but the 'bad guys' knew how to write a virus, because then no one but them would know how to keep their systems secure from them.

    1. Re:They might be accused... by caouchouc · · Score: 5, Insightful

      As a software engineer, I have to say that the perceived "skill" required to write a virus is blown way out of proportion.

      There's nothing inherently special about a virus or a worm. They're actually very simple, and most malware writers today are not very talented. They produce bloated, barely functional software (scripts, for the most part today) that is only dangerous because the average user is so trusting. I remember when viruses were actually smaller than the files they infected...

      Got coders in your firm? If they're capable of writing inter-operation layers for your apps or database frontends, then they're capable of writing viruses and worms far worse than bugbear. But chances are they don't, because it's a waste of time.

      Those students don't need specialized virus-writing courses. A simple assembly course would put them lightyears ahead of the "bad guys" if they actually paid attention for once.

    2. Re:They might be accused... by mlush · · Score: 5, Funny
      roughly 70% of the code written will be copied from a single student while hte other 30% is competely unworkable. =)

      ...and if caught at plagerism the studants can claim that the copyed virus infected their project work

  2. Crackers by ramzak2k · · Score: 5, Informative

    Crackers, not hackers.
    I understand this is a losing battle but lets not get it wrong on slashdot.

    --

    Siggy Say, Siggy Do
  3. Re:Hacking ethics by boredMDer · · Score: 5, Informative

    For those of you blindly following that link and getting 404's or similar, here's both the corrected version (Berkeley is spelled w/ 3 e's) and in link form -
    http://www.cs.berkeley.edu/~bh/hackers.html

  4. Resume by phorm · · Score: 5, Funny
    But... somehow I have a problem seeing this net me a job on my resume:

    Skills:
    • Virus Creation
    • System Cracking
    • Advanced infection techniques

    Comment:
    While I realize the above skills may not be entirely useful for the position described, I have noted that you do have an internet connection to your primary server via IP address 66.35.250.150. Would you like me to tell you your root password during an interview, or should I be ready work at 8:30am tomorrow?
  5. Re:O'Canada by saforrest · · Score: 5, Funny

    Well, I'm quite proud to be an (adopted) Canadian. I see this as just another way for us to poke the Nazi Americans...what with SARs, mad cow, and our threat to decriminalize pot...why shouldn't we just push the envelope a little more? ;-)

    We also maintain a threatening lead in Zamboni technology. [This borrowed from Canadian Bacon].

  6. Re:hype by Timesprout · · Score: 5, Funny

    where did they get the figure of $1.6-trillion of damage done by viruses

    I was out sick for 2 weeks a few months ago with a virus so that explains a lot but I'm dammed if I know where they got the other half trillion from.

    --
    Do not try to read the dupe, thats impossible. Instead, only try to realize the truth
    What truth?
    There is no dupe
  7. That's how I learned by PetoskeyGuy · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Anyone remember Mark Ludwig? I remember getting "The Little Black Book of Computer Viruses" and his other books. It contained excellent explanations of how programs work, COM, EXE strcutre and then how to use ASM to modify those programs. There were ever some polymorphic virus in there all with Source Code. His later books, The Big Black Book of Computer Viruses and Computers, Viruses and Artificial Life were all right, and discussed Alife ideas about the code really being alive in the "world" of the computer.

    I haven't read his latest book, The Little Black Book of Email Viruses: A Technical Guide. I haven't thought about that stuff in a long time. It did allow me to find the ILoveYou virus and fix it at our company by quickly renaming the wscript.exe program since I learned to think about viruses in terms of what they needed to reproduce.

    Personally I think the Novell file security system would be an excellent way to combat viruses and other things. Read, Write, Execute, Copy, Modify and a few others all as true seperate rights. Pain in the but to configure, but very nice once it was setup

    Windows NTFS is a little better then just Read Only, Hidden, and System, but even the standard Linux RWX3 rights make me miss Novell. Anyone know if there is there a filesystem out there for Linux that has that level of rights?

    Personally I don't know if it's possible to have a secure system that that is still usable by the masses who just want to check there email and click OK on every message box that pops up. It's hard enough to secure things when you know what your doing.

  8. Re: i can just see the film... by op51n · · Score: 5, Funny

    Disgruntled Professor in said subject goes insane (but his inherent humanity remains for later purposes in the script, naturally) and writes a virus that will 'bring down the planets computing power'. Former student and star of the class is brought in (obviously from somewhere and time at which they for some reason cannot face computers (possibilities: severe RSI, Epilepsy set off miraculously by 65-85Hz screens, Blindness...) to defeat the mad professor, before the final showdown with badly executed profundities.

    And all the computer scenes have to use a bizarre and unique 3D styled UI, that looks wholly unusable, and slightly, if not completely frustrating.

    Geee, I can't wait *lays on the fake exuberance*. These things always happen when something becomes more mainstream.