Slashdot Mirror
Software Giants Seek Friends Among Hackers
Carl Bialik from WSJ writes "Big tech companies are engaging in a full charm offensive at the Black Hat hacker conference as they seek to convince hackers and security researchers to work with, not against, them, the Wall Street Journal reports. Among those being courted: HD Moore. The suitor is his erstwhile foe, Microsoft. From the article: 'Microsoft plans to wine and dine Mr. Moore at a party at the fancy Palms Hotel. A Microsoft security executive wants to meet with him to discuss his latest work. And earlier this year, the Redmond, Wash., company invited him to speak at a Microsoft-sponsored conference on security. "There were a few tense silences," says Mr. Moore, 24 years old, who lives in Austin, Texas. But he says the meetings put a human face on a company he once saw as impenetrable. "You're less willing to publicly humiliate someone you know in real life," he says.'"
Microsoft: "Welcome Mr. Moore -- it's a pleasure to meet you in person. What's that? You want a hug?"
*they hug* Moore: "Well, I must be going"
*he leaves*
Microsoft: "...wait a minute... HE STOLE OUR WALLETS!"
A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kick boxing.
I've been to dinner with people from Microsoft, Intel, AMD, Broadcom, Sandisk, the DoD, CRA (Canada), etc.
It's fucking dinner.
Wait till they offer him a grant, job or other swag to be impressed. If they gave him a grant to bash the shit out of Windows that'd be impressive. A $50 dinner on the strip is not (though free eats is good)
Tom
Someday, I'll have a real sig.
Extend . . .
(wait for it) . . .
Extinguish!
"Hi! I'm Clippy! I see you're exploiting loopholes in Windows. Would you like to:
"* Tell your zombies to phone home for a head count
"* Plant a malicious WMF at a popular web site to get more zombies
"* Do some illegal file sharing (since all file sharers are black hats)
"* I'm not a script kiddie and don't need any help
" (CANCEL) (OKAY)"
The problem with this is that it's an illusion.
Corporations are composed of not just a single person, but of many people, each of whom has an agenda. Most of those people tend to limit their thoughts about the decisions they make on behalf of the company to the benefits that decision may bring to the corporation and to themselves, and perhaps to the possible harm the benefits may bring to the corporation and to themselves. The last thing to enter their mind, in general, is the impact the decision may have on individuals outside the corporation. The more conscientious types may consider that, but such people appear to be rare, and such people in positions of great influence within a corporation appear to be especially rare.
So while this person may being to believe that the corporation he's dealing with is somehow now more "human" as a result of his dealings with specific individuals, he's making quite a few bad assumptions, not the least of which is that the people he's dealing with have a large amount of influence over the actions of the corporation. That's almost certainly not the case, and yet the actual "humanity" of the corporation depends on it.
The bottom line is that this guy (Moore) isn't nearly cynical enough, and is likely to get burned.
The very purpose and nature of the corporation, to shield the corporation's stakeholders from the consequences of the corporation's actions, are exactly why the corporation can never be "human" in any meaningful way, except perhaps in a psychopathic sense. The numerous experiments (e.g., those involving simulated torture, imprisonment, etc.) that have been done in which the individual is shielded from the consequences of his actions are proof of how much of a person's humanity is lost from that. The corporation is a formal embodiment of that separation. In light of said experiments, the consequences should be obvious, and the typical behaviour of corporations is further proof.
Use 'slashdot stuff' in the subject line in any email you send me if you want to get past the spam filter.
If that doesn't work, shoot them in the back of the head.
J.W. Booth
Badass Resumes