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School Teaches 'Ethical Hacking'

Yardboy writes "A Yahoo! News/Reuters story discusses students in Los Angeles paying $4,000 to attend 'Hacker College' and become 'Certified Ethical Hackers'. Apparently: 'Instructors race through topics like symmetric versus asymmetric key cryptography (symmetric is faster), war dialing (hackers will always call late at night) and well-known TCP ports and services (be wary of any activity on Port 0)', and the president of the college: says 'What we attempt to do in our classes is teach how the hackers think.' Hmmm, perhaps 'Certified Script Kiddie' would be a more accurate designation."

38 of 339 comments (clear)

  1. Gasp! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    Better watch out, article submitter! Me and my friends are totally gonna DDOS you now!!!!

  2. Oh man... by RegalBegal · · Score: 5, Funny

    First day. 2day kidZ, w3 LeRN 2 HaX0R t3H g00d w^y...w00t. OMG. RTFB.

    --
    "It'll destroy you if you try to make it mean anything to anyone but yourself." - Henry Rollins
    1. Re:Oh man... by theJerk242 · · Score: 1, Funny

      Pr0f3x0r, W|-|3n w177 w3 L3@rn 2 H@x0r teh Gibs0n?

      --
      Red Bull gave me wings and I flew into the ceiling fan.
  3. Hackers will always call late at night by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    What they don't tell you until the PhD course is that it's always late at night somewhere.

  4. Hmmm by Neil+Blender · · Score: 5, Funny

    Sounds like they are social engineering people out of $4,000.

  5. With titles like those... by mikael · · Score: 5, Funny

    I wonder how long before they offer the qualification of "Certified Pointy Haired Boss"?

    --
    Vintage computer adverts: http://www.vintageadbrowser.com/computers-and-software-ads
    1. Re:With titles like those... by peragrin · · Score: 2, Funny

      Already due have a "Certified Pointy Haired Boss" It's called an MBA or EMBA..

      These degrees are there to ensure only stupid people ge management roles.

      --
      i thought once I was found, but it was only a dream.
  6. First line of the story by liquidsin · · Score: 4, Funny

    Sporting long sideburns, a bushy goatee and black baseball cap, instructor Ralph Echemendia has a class...

    He wears a black hat, and we're expected to believe that he's teaching ethical hacking? It's a cover! He's building an army! TERRORISTS!!!

    --
    do not read this line twice.
  7. I'm Waiting by stinkyfingers · · Score: 5, Funny

    Wake me up when they offer Ethical Racketeering, Ethical Pimping, and Ethical Congressional Campaigning.

  8. My $5 by Doesn't_Comment_Code · · Score: 4, Funny

    I'm offering 5 dollars to help a poor Microsoft programmer attend this school, where he will learn how hackers think in order to stop them. Maybe if we all contribute to the pool, we'll have easier lives.

    --

    Slashdot Syndrome: the sudden, extreme urge to correct someone in order to validate one's self.
  9. But the real question is by Scoria · · Score: 5, Funny

    4r3 7h3y c3r71f13d 1n 1337sp34k? j00 c4n't b3 4 h4x0r w17h0u7 1337sp34k. ;-)

    --
    Do you like German cars?
    1. Re:But the real question is by the_weasel · · Score: 5, Funny

      It bothers me that I had no trouble reading that. None at all. And I am about as far from being l33t as you can imagine.

      --
      - sarcasm is just one more service we offer -
    2. Re:But the real question is by rpbailey1642 · · Score: 4, Funny

      Hey, guys, it looks like yet another person has fallen asleep on their keyboard while posting to Slashdot.

    3. Re:But the real question is by Carbonite · · Score: 4, Funny

      Oh, that's what happened! I thought someone was posting a Perl script.

      --
      ich muß mehr Kuhglocke haben
    4. Re:But the real question is by Weirdofreak · · Score: 2, Funny

      'j00 \/\/4|<3 |)|_||21|\|9 |'=~/\/\ 71|\/|35 1|\| 73|-| 5|'3(7|2|_||\/| 0|= |)00|\/| 4|<4 |_||/

      You wake during P-M times in the spectrum of doom AKA UV. Could be better, but I don't care. It executes fine, unless you happen to be using an English parser.

    5. Re:But the real question is by Reteo+Varala · · Score: 2, Funny

      You scare me...

      Wait... I didn't even hesitate when reading that...

      *shudder* Mommy?

  10. This is an outrage... by Gyorg_Lavode · · Score: 5, Funny

    This is an outrage to all of us who toiled for years to become script kiddies and received no formal documentation of our accomplishments.

    --
    I do security
  11. Your CEH cert will give you the pride... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...of self knowledge and recognized accomplishment amongst your peers that only MCSEs have enjoyed up to now.

  12. In other news. . . by JohnFromCanada · · Score: 5, Funny

    Recent graduates of the 'Hacker College' realize that their diploma is virtually worthless in the real world and come to realize that they were just socially enginered out of $4000 dollars.

  13. A white hat by slasher+guy · · Score: 4, Funny

    Do they get a white hat with the certificate?

  14. I signed up for this class by The_Rippa · · Score: 4, Funny

    And paid for it with credit card numbers I stole from various hotmail accounts.

  15. Like "Hackers"? by cdavies · · Score: 5, Funny

    Woah. If the course is lectured by Angelina Jolie, I'll cough up my 4KUSD in about 3 seconds flat ;)

  16. Cracking... by umrgregg · · Score: 4, Funny

    This is true 'ethical' hacking. And you don't even have to go to school to learn it. Well never mind, you have to go to school...

    --
    NMG
  17. Re:Seems expensive by Doesn't_Comment_Code · · Score: 5, Funny

    Be careful with dynamic memory.

    Watch for stack overflows.

    Always restrict access as much as possible.

    Use the strongest encryption available depending on the sensitivity of your data.

    Turn off all services that you don't use.

    Don't set your root password to root.

    Assume every user has bad motives.

    Plan for the worst.


    Send $4000 and a self addressed, stamped envelope with your name as you would like it to appear on your certificate.

    --

    Slashdot Syndrome: the sudden, extreme urge to correct someone in order to validate one's self.
  18. Ethics in Three Simple Lessons by handy_vandal · · Score: 4, Funny

    (1) Do as I say, not as I do.

    (2) Do it to someone else, not to me.

    (3) You learned this from someone else, not from me.

    -kgj

    --
    -kgj
  19. In other news... by 192939495969798999 · · Score: 5, Funny

    75% of the graduating class is under house arrest for hacking back into the schools' cc merchant account servers and getting their $4000 back. The other 25% also stole back their money, but couldn't be traced, and are presumed at large.

    --
    stuff |
  20. A Social-Hacking Honeypot? by 00Sovereign · · Score: 2, Funny

    Perhaps the real reason for this class is simply to collect a large mass of 1337 Do0d5 in once place for their eventual "disposal"

    --Shhhh....don't tell anyone.

    --
    "Me fail English, that's unpossible." --Ralphie
  21. Not script kiddies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    The course seems pretty expensive and probably not exactly ideal, but it's a bit more than just script-kiddiesm. Unless, of course, the tests look like this:

    Q: You are the IT manager of an online business. The owner is pleased to announce that the business has enjoyed rapid growth, and has asked you to prepare an outline of system upgrades and estimated costs to deal with an estimated 8,000 daily visitors consuming approximately 320KB, with the number of visitors doubling every six months. What are your main concerns likely to be? (circle all that apply)
    a) Cost of expanded bandwidth utilization
    b) Maintenance issues associated with a medium-sized server farm, as well as software concerns regarding your web application and load balancing
    c) Continued self-hosting via the corporate T1 line vs. co-location
    d) wtf ???? ummm just run linux+apache d00d !!!!!

    Q: You are a consultant, hired to evaluate the security and efficiency of a small business's server configuration. Your employer, inexperienced with both the technology itself as well as online business in general, has hinted to you that he's not certain how competent his system administrator Simon is. In evaluating the systems, you discover that Simon has misappropriated the server budget to upgrade his desktop system to play Unreal Tournament 2k4, and has left the actual servers themselves equipped with 386s and faulty hard disks. As you were confronting him about this in the server room, he excused himself from the room to fetch "documentation" while his young and pimply-faced apprentice tripped the halon fire extinguishers. What should your reaction be?

    a) Immediately contact the police.
    b) Inform the manager, and urge him to speak with the apprentice's parents about a possible intervention.
    c) Return a favorable report after realizing that you have become tangled with things far larger than you, and never interfere with those servers again.
    d) whats a halon fire

    Q: A company has suffered a break-in. Not having a security professional on-hand, they have turned to you as a forensics consultant to help them assess the damage, identify the point of origin, and take appropriate response measures. What will your first action be?

    a) Request a list of all servers on the network with their operating systems, as well as servers and version numbers.
    b) Unplug the servers.
    c) Inquire if there is any way an employee could have accessed the servers.
    d) Ask your friends on EFNet if they did it.

  22. j00 have a degree now. by siliconjunkie · · Score: 2, Funny

    7Hi5 c3r7iFi35 7H@7 U g07Z p@5$3D @Ll 7h3 rEqUiReD c0uR535 f0r H@ck3r c0lL3G3. U @R3 N0W 31337.

  23. Re:Seems expensive by Tongo · · Score: 3, Funny

    Could you imagine having your snailmail box /.'d? It would be fun to get a PO Box and post it on here a few times....

  24. Their training video.... by theJerk242 · · Score: 1, Funny

    I bet their training video will be the movie Hackers.

    --
    Red Bull gave me wings and I flew into the ceiling fan.
  25. Cracker by mfh · · Score: 2, Funny

    > You know, it's only been within the last few years that I've heard any significant usage of the word "cracker" with regards to computer security.

    It usually means dumbass white motherfucker where I'm from.

    --
    The dangers of knowledge trigger emotional distress in human beings.
  26. Re:Wash, rinse, repeat by James+Turpin · · Score: 2, Funny

    The reason they didn't teach the original "hackers" ethics in the first place is quite simple: If they had, some of these hackers would have realized how corrupt the system is - the system that the feds protect - and may have gone about undermining the system in some ingenious but ethical manner. And the last thing the feds want is _ethical_ civil disobedience. I mean, you can have a war on crime, or a war in terrorism, but a war on creative ethical civil disobedience!?!? No, they couldn't fight such a thing publicly without creating a public back lash, so better to stop its creation in the first place via poor education, misinformation, and stereotyping.

    --
    Mathematics is not a crime.
  27. school name by auroran · · Score: 3, Funny

    hmmm i wonder what the school's called
    maybe "0wnz U"?

  28. that would create a paradox by LuxFX · · Score: 2, Funny

    'What we attempt to do in our classes is teach how the hackers think.' Hmmm, perhaps 'Certified Script Kiddie' would be a more accurate designation.

    Except then it would be "What we attempt to do in our classes is teach how the script kiddies think." And putting the words "think" and "script kiddie" next to each other like that creates a paradox. Impossible to comprehend, much less teach.

    --
    Punctanym: alternate spelling of words using punctuation or numerals in place of some or all of its letters; see 'leet'
  29. Re:[cynical] by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    But you didn't learn the difference between weather and whether.

  30. Re:[cynical] by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Funny

    Oh, and before you apply anywhere in the future, work on that spelling and grammar ;)

    College can more useful...

    Hello, Kettle? This is pot. You're black.

  31. Re:Seems expensive by nlindstrom · · Score: 2, Funny
    Don't set your root password to root.
    Excellent point. You should always use a secure combination, such as 1-2-3-4-5.