OSEC

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NFR Wizards Archive: RE: Extreme Hacking

RE: Extreme Hacking

George Jones (gjoneslab.fcnbd.com)
Wed, 7 Jul 1999 12:43:51 -0400 (EDT)

On Tue, 6 Jul 1999 sean.kellylanston.com wrote:

> Knowing the potential vulnerabilities of a system is the first step towards
> making it secure. It's even better if you can get ahead of the curve and
> discover new methods of breaking into a system that aren't yet public
> knowledge -- your systems will be that much more secure. Who better to
> secure a system against crackers than a cracker, provided you trust them?

The skills needed to break in and the skills needed to build effective
systems to prevent breakins are different. I wouldn't hire delinquent
teenagers to design my home security system, bank vaults, or
information security architectures, but I'm pretty sure that some of
them are good at breaking windows, perpetrating holdups, and running
scripts.

> > Am I the only person who has a problem with the idea of someone
> > teaching hacking techniques? Sometimes I think I am.

The one that got me recently was the hyprocacy of the Clinton
administration (I think it was Bill himself) announcing that the US
government was going to, among other things, launch a hacking campaign
against international financial institutions to try to drain the bank
accounts of Slobodan Milosovic...what would the rhetoric be if some
disgruntled Serbians, Afgans or Whitewater investors tried the same
against him?

> > I know a good ambulance chaser lawyer, who'll work for %33
> > of the take...
>
> Interesting note: 60% of the world's lawyers practice in the US and there
> are as many people in law-school in the US as there are lawyers currently
> practicing in the US. That amounts to a whole LOT of lawyers. The US is
> the MacDonald's of litigation.

I've long had a theory that quality of life equals the inverse of lawyers
per thousand....

        "In ten years we're gonn'a have
         one million lawyers,
         one million lawyers,
         one million lawyers,
         in ten years we're gonn'a have
         one million lawyers,
         one million lawyers,
         one million lawyers,
         how much can a poor nation stand?"

         Tom Lehrer, sometime before 1987.

George Jones, IT Architect, BankOne Information Security
Voice: +1 614 213 6191, Fax: +1 614 213 1413,
email: gjoneslab.fcnbd.com

"My grandfather once told me that there are two kinds of people: those
who work and those who take the credit. He told me to try to be in the
first group; there was less competition there."
     - Indira Gandhi

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