Slashdot Mirror


Python is a Hit With Hackers, Report Finds (zdnet.com)

After breaking into the top three most popular programming languages for the first time this month, behind C and Java, Python has also won the hearts of hackers and web nasties, according to attack statistics published this week by web security biz Imperva. From a report: The company says more than a third of daily attacks against sites the company protects come from a malicious or legitimate tool coded in Python. Imperva says that around 77 percent of all the sites the company protects, have been attacked by at least one Python-based tool. Furthermore, when the company looked at the list of tools that hackers used for their attacks, more than a quarter were coded in Python, by far the attackers' favorite tool. "Hackers, like developers, enjoy Python's advantages which makes it a popular hacking tool," the Imperva team says.

6 of 72 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Python advantages? by Narcocide · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Yea that's sortof my take on this, too. It's got a lot less to do with Python's practical usefulness and a lot more to do with how trends get set in script kiddie communities.

  2. Re:Why Python? by JoeyRox · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Python is definitely the language to use when you want to get the tool developed fast, but not the best if that tool needs to run fast.

  3. Writing vs. Reading by Tablizer · · Score: 2

    Python: The tool to use when you want to get things done fast.

    Write fast, not necessarily read fast. Perl had a reputation for being quick and short to write code with, but such code had very questionable readability by somebody besides the author.

    Remember, roughly 2/3 of software cost is maintenance, not original writing. I'm not claiming Python has a problem in this area, only saying that quick/short writing of code is only part of a real-world score.

  4. Re:I like VB too by Tablizer · · Score: 2

    I'm not really sure what your point is, but remember that there is something called "VBscript" that is interpreted and was common for a while.

  5. Re:Under Wear is Also Hit with hackers by Opportunist · · Score: 2

    I always hack naked. When you abuse someone, you can as well do it right.

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  6. Re:Python advantages? by h33t+l4x0r · · Score: 2

    He's talking about scraping apparently. These aren't real attacks IMHO. If someone is after my data I would actually prefer that they use Python because at least it will take a while.