Hacker Jeff Moss Sworn Into Homeland Security Advisory Council

Wolfgang Kandek writes "Hacker Jeff Moss, founder of computer security conferences DEFCON and Black Hat, has been sworn in as one of the new members of the Homeland Security Advisory Council (HSAC) of the DHS. Moss, who goes by the handle 'the Dark Tangent' says he was surprised to be asked to join the council and that he was nominated to bring an 'outside perspective' to its meetings. He said, 'I know there is a new-found emphasis on cybersecurity, and they're looking to diversify the members and to have alternative viewpoints. I think they needed a skeptical outsider's view because that has been missing.'"

Comments

Maybe Jeff can explain this

[bogaboga]

I have used Linux and Unix systems for over a decade now. What boggles my mind me is why a [Linux/Unix] "encrypted password" stored in /etc/security/passwd cannot easily be "reverse engineered."

If a known algorithm produces the encrypted password, why can't that algorithm be "reversed" to produce the original password in the first place? Algorithms follow a set of logical instructions.

Even in open source systems, encrypted passwords are not easy to crack. Why?

Could a slashdotter post some "simple to understand code" that produces output I cannot reverse engineer?

Re:More change for the US

[HornWumpus]

Fascists were mortal enemies of communists.

They were both socialists.

Get over it. It's simply a historical fact.

In fascist systems the government takes over the corporations (This happened in Nazi Germany, Mussolini's Italy and Franco's Spain) not the other way around.

You are however correct about most of the economic problems being caused by Fascists...Fascists like Barny Frank.