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Would You Hire a Former Black Hat?
Mark Zenson asks: "Understanding the mindset of a hacker and the likes of one may be useful to counter security attacks, but apparently companies still object to hiring former, or even reformed, black hats."
The article asks this question of several executives in the industry and for various reasons, many of them were skeptical to the idea of hiring such people. Would you give black hats a second chance if you were in their position?
But on a more serious note, I would hire anybody as long as they have the right personality. That's right, I've seen it happen too. People who don't know anything about computers are working in corporate America as programmers. They are one trick ponies and it would take me a few minutes to show others how to do that one trick. The questions I need answered are:
- Can they work with people?
- Can they dress well?
- Do they shower?
- Are they capable of staying after normal work hours every now and then to see to something getting finished?
- Are they sensitive to other people and their surroundings?
If you answered "yes" to all these questions, you too are a potential "team member." In any business. Degrees help but are not required.Judging by the stereotypical picture of a black hat that the media has given the public, I would guess they wouldn't pass the first bullet above. Judging by the few that I know, they are risks but at some point straightened up and are valuable employees to their companies. You just need to assess whether or not they've figured out that a steady source of income is way more rewarding than having "VIODENTIA RULEZ #1" spray painted on the RIAA's website once a year. And that "selling out" isn't really "selling out" but devoting some of your time to a large project in order to better your circumstances the rest of the time. If they're past that point, then you've got a potential for a great employee.
What's unfortunate for black hats is that there is a wealth of solid programmers from America, India and Russia (if they can make it here) who are more than willing to do anything. On top of that, they have no criminal background. So even if a Blackhat is more qualified, they're probably just dismissed since a thousand other people are eager for the work and meet the basic qualifications. Unfortunate, but something to think about if you want to delve into the dark side of computers and networks.
My work here is dung.
I'm an ex-blackhat who's been working the security space for over 10 years now. My employers only know about my work experience; nothing prior to that. I'm very good at my job, I'm passionate about security, that's all that matters. As long as you're a blackhat who doesn't have a criminal record, you'll likely get a lot more value out of them than a cert crazy white hat who got into security cuz it's "cool".
I might not hire a former BlackHat. However, Microsoft did when they hired me. Not quite as black as many hats out there these days, not making bot nets and selling them, or forming open FTP servers for all sorts of horrible stuff, but discovering vulnerabilities and sending them to folks other than the makers of the product.
Blackhats aren't all shut-ins, as one comment on this thread already posted. The trick is finding those who went blackhat because it was more fun, and had more chances to dig deper into things than going whitehat would have.
Now, how sad would it be if I forgot to check to post AC?Ducklin said: "Let's say that you're shot during a mugging [incident]. As you drift into unconsciousness, would you find yourself saying 'Gosh, I hope the surgeon who operates on me used to be a street criminal because he must really understand gunshot wounds well if he actually shot the people?' You wouldn't think that."
Agree 100%.
The real question is are Black Hat Hackers worth the potential risk (shown by their history). Being a Black Hat hacker doesn't mean you are any good at computers or security. Being labeled as a Black Hat Hacker means you were some Jerk Script Kiddy, who downloaded some scripts and took control of systems that they know is vulnerable. There are a lot fewer Black Hat hackers who are actually good at what they do. The Gray or White Hat hackers those are the ones you want to focus more on. They are more interested in breaking security to make it tighter, or for the Gray Hats make the tools for the Black Hats. Black Hacks will use what ever method is available to break in and cause damage. So if they are Reformed are they really that smart or just smart enough to type in some code word in 1337 speak, and there is a site where they can get some script. Vs. someone who know why the script works and what needs to be done to stop it.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
This is a good point--how many people fairly labelled as blackhats are real hackers in the best sense of the word, vs. getting caught at something stupid and easily downloaded from a l33t site?
In fact, if someone was actually a blackhat, it would tend to count against them in my mind as a capable hacker because it implies that they got caught.
Anyone who loves or hates any language, platform, or manufacturer, doesn't know what they're talking about.
Well, it would depend, wouldn't it.
In no particular order:
How do you know the "hat status" of a potential employee?
What does the law say in the jurisdiction you're in?
Are there other "hat free" candidates with the same skills?
Are you willing to take the risk?
Are there any benefits to the available position that the former "black hat" status offers? (Think, for example, of a truly reformed virus writer who still has contacts in the underground, but, who is now applying for a position in an antivirus company.)
"Consistency is contrary to nature, contrary to life. The only completely consistent people are the dead." A. Huxley
* Are they capable of staying after normal work hours every now and then to see to something getting finished? Oh, that kind of job. Sorry, despite what the above might lead one to imply, I do in fact have a life. Or at least, enough of a one not to waste it patching up someone elses mistakes.
Heh. Sucks to be you. You should try looking for a job you enjoy. When you find a job where you genuinely **want** to be there - the work is challenging and engaging and keeps you interested for 8+ hours a day - it is truly a joyful experiance. Hope you find it someday. Until then work is just a job, not a career.
I can't see a blackhat even wanting to be an admin. If you already have access, it's boring.