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Yet Another Article on Hacking
metalgeek writes "CNN conducted two interviews about hacking. One with Emmanuel Goldstein is the editor-in-chief of 2600: The Hacker Quarterly. The other is Dr. Charles Palmer, one one the head security guys at IBM. fairly well written
article over all."
Both of these people are agreeing with each other, and are somewhat on the same side of the fence:
1) They both believe maliciousness of any form is reprehensible and rightfully legally punishable.
2) They both agree that "true" hackers (those who follow the "hacker ethic") are doing it for the passion, the intrigue, the curiosity and discovery of it.
3) They both think that more encryption and education are the solution, not just closing their eyes and blaming "bad" people.
"hacker" is a state of mind...
It's 10 PM. Do you know if you're un-American?
Eek! According to that IBM guy, I can go to jail for that ray tracer I wrote, or that natural selection simulator where the program guessed the optimum input to a function that even I didn't know how to optimize.
Methinks that IBM guy is trying to redefine what "hacking" means.
I know, I know, it's a lost cause... the word has been stolen from us. I'm still pissed about it, though.
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As copyright owner of this comment, I authorize everyone to defeat any technological measure which limits access to it.
If you are a sysadmin, or become one in the future, eventually it will be the case that you'll get hacked by someone who will destroy your data (usually out of carelessness and stupidity), will create extra work for you, and will put you in the hot seat for not closing the door on unauthorized access. It's amazing how much perception of hackers changes when that happens.
That being said, most hacking is more along the lines of simple pranks. Any law enforcement official can tell you how pranks turn into felonies in the hands of a inept prankster, but for the most part pranksters go along their merry way, doing their work in the face of authority, and most people dont really care all too much.
The fact that we tell our children not to tag the walls of buildings or drive over the speed limit, or sneak into bars, or smoke weed, or whatever probably wont stop them from trying it. But that's not going to stop us from telling them.
-Rich
-Rich
I understand that hacking (actually cracking) is not what corporate types want to happen, but it bugs me that this fellow from IBM just looks at all this in terms of it 'being a felony'. That may be true, but that's certainly not the outlook I would expect from a fellow computer geek (who's looking at this from the other side of the fence). Come on, even if you work for IBM, surely you have something more exciting to say about hacking/cracking than 'it's a felony'.
... ... ...
Car Salesman: But it goes 500Mph at 200 miles per gallon, and it only costs $500
Corporate type: Yes, but breaking the speed limit of 55 Mph is a felony
Car Salesman: Excuse me while I go shoot myself
on a somewhat related note (all these hacker stories lately), Goldstein gives his 2 cents on the "MTV - Wanna Be a Hacker" Special.
MTV'S "TRUE LIFE" - A REVIEW
...
How can a journalist ever figure out if someone really is a hacker ? Put yourself in their shoes for a second : you're used to writing about the adventures of Bill and Monica, or the latest 'hot news' about Britney Sprears, and then your editor tells you to do a story about 'hackers'. What would you do ? All you know about computers is how to turn them on and start Word. And then this nice person comes along, claiming to be one, and tells you a lot of stuff about 'hacking' and the cool stuff he has done. Your editor is never going to ask questions about this stuff, 'cause he knows even less about computers than you do. And you've got a deadline. What would you do ?
Maybe it's time for a site listing "Certified Hackers" (with their accomplishments) the media can get their soundbytes from :-)
superblog.org: all your favourite blogs on o
"hacking is the only field where the media believes anyone who says they're a hacker."
:)
Finally. Would MTV please take note?
Still, given the industries recent propensity for requiring certification (CLP, MSCE etc), does this mean that there will be a H4X0rZ certificate?
And who will administrate it? Will there be one for NT, one for BeOS, and another for each implementation of *NIX? Must Red Hat start giving the Linux certificate?
Still, can't wait for the new business cards - John Smith, BSc (Hons), h4X0R d00d...
Exam paper for Linux h4X0r d00d accreditation: Pick ONE of the multichoice for each question:
Q1) Packet sniffing is:
a) Using an NIC on the network to examine other traffic not addressed to that NIC.
b) What your dog does to strangers' crotches
c) What the Postal service does to suspicious mail
Q2) A buffer overflow exploit is
a) A data storage area can be flooded with a bit stream, enabling hijacking of the IP register to execute custom code.
b) didn't malloc() properly.
c) Shoe shine boy cleaned your shoes twice & charged you ten times the going rate.
etc...
---------------
NT h4X0r d00d exam as provided by MS
Pick ONE of the multichoice for each question:
Q1) Describe the NT security model
a) Any breaches are hypothetical
b) Any breaches are hypothetical
c) CDC are liars
Q2) Describe B02K
a) A malicious hacking tool
b) A malicious hacking tool
c) CDC are liars
etc....
And there'd have to be a grade at the end of the exam:
0-45% ScriptKiddie. Go back to AOL, stop trying to pass B02K off as your own, and QUIT WANKING!
45%-60% Wannabe. Keep trying!
60%-80% h4X0r. Stay away from milnet, you still aren't covering your tracks.
80%-100% 31337 h4X0r d00d!!! |/\|3 ph33r U! P13323 d0n7 h4X0r u5!!!
Strong data typing is for those with weak minds.
1) People using computers no longer wear long white coats and use punch cards
...surveys continue to show that the threat from inside an organization is greater than from outside.)
/. readers. If you do, do NOT reply with a witty response. This is extremely dangerous, and possibly impossible for IBM...
2) Do not quote IBM magazines. There's a simple reason for this - nobody reads IBM's "official technical magazines", including IBM employees. On the brighter side, everybody recycles them. There's a simple reason for this - they are incredibly boring, especially the cartoons and jokes.
3) Your CEO is a former "cost efficiency expert" and avoids interviews where technical questions could be asked. Replace him with somebody who knows what an "operating system" means. Meanwhile, it may also be a good idea to change your culture, fire the bureaucrats, and put real programmers in charge.
4) You say that
There's a major threat from within IBM....the threat of boring everyone to tears. Stop this epidemic before it gets serious. Hire people who don't talk like IRS employees.
5) Do not show ads. with people wearing black suits and staring straight ahead. It scares customers away.
6) Don't try to act like a "fun", "hip", "Gen-X" company. It scares customers away.
7) Do not use words like "IT visioneering" and assorted crap.
8) Do not read memos from
w/m
-- I'm not a freak show, I'm a mammal. --
Today, hacking in the sense of "doing cool stuff with a real OS" (as opposed to, say, reverse-engineering assembly code as part of a copy-protection defeat) doesn't require breaching the security of third party systems. Rather, it's now about knowing how your own system works.
For anyone who hasn't yet read Stephen Levy's "Hackers", (I, like many, was inspired to re-read my dog-eared copy upon the recent /. review), go read it. IMNSHO, open source has become the canonical embodiment of the original TMRC-era philosophy: "Always yield to the hands-on imperative".
> But if you're mobbed by people who are looking for free phone calls, software or exploits, ... ] While it's certainly
> you're just an opportunist, possibly even a criminal. [
> possible to use hacking ability to commit a crime, once you do this you cease
> being a hacker and commence being a criminal. It's really not a hard distinction to
> make.
Thank you, Mr. Goldstein, for making the distinction. Why the media has steadfastly refused to pick up on this for the past 10-12 years is both unfathomable and unforgivable.
This CNN article is old. I could have swore I read it a couple months ago. Maybe I'm wrong. Or maybe CNN is just recycling the same old crap...
I see a lot of support from the rest of the
Goldstein is still a child at heart. He's curious. And, I have the feeling that because every thing is 'lectronic, it's not quite real to him.
Until people realize that you can indeed "trespass" on "Virtual Real Estate", and accord the same rights to it as exists IRL, the "Netizen" will always be a second class citizen. Goldsteins way of thinking keeps us that way.
I don't think curiousity should be punished - but some people have to learn to respect other peoples boundaries. It really doens't matter what your motive is, or that you won't do anything damaging with what you learned. If someone puts up a big red sign that says "Do Not Enter" - that should be enough.
How is an online store any different from a real life one? If I go to the store at the mall, toward the rear there is a door. It's marked "Employees Only". If I go thru, I'm trespassing. It doesn't matter that I'm not taking anything, or doing anything harmful. (while one may debate the merits of whether or not land can be owned, and whether anyone can restrict any one else from accessing it - that is neither here nor there, things are the way they are) If I go to an online store, and start nosing around the back-end of it, is that so different than me going thru an employees only door?
Like I said, Until people respect online resources in the same ways that they respect the analogs that exist in real life, the online "world" will forever remain a fantasy-land.
- Porter
Information wants to be $4.95.