Love Those Hackers

No sooner had Philippine authorities dropped charges against Love Bug virus writer Onel de Guzman last month than the 24-year-old college drop-out was back in the news. Guzman,whose handiwork wrought an estimated $10 billion in damage,was being besieged with job offers.

"Good hard-core coders are difficult to find. Getting coders who understand security vulnerabilities is even more difficult," says Russ Rogers, a self-described hacker and organizer of the annual Def Con hacker convention. "Hackers bring something into the corporate- and government-working world that has been missing to a large degree: raw ingenuity and motivation to learn as much about the box as possible. Wouldn't you want some of these folks working on your team?"

Top Hacker/Hacker Related Sites:

Attrition

Attrition.org (http://www.attrition.org) is a computer security Web site dedicated to the collection, dissemination and distribution of information about the industry. The site maintains one of the largest catalogs of security advisories, cryptography, text files, and denial of service attack information. It is known for its mirror of Web site defacements and its crusade to expose industry frauds and inform the public about incorrect information in computer security articles.

Hacker News Network

Consider this site news-central on security breaches. It includes links to other sites and a mirror of Web site defacements "not to glorify them but to prove that sites get cracked every day. "

http://www.hackernews.com/

DEF CON

Official site of the annual DEF COM hackers' convention in Las Vegas and cultural center of hard-core coders everywhere.

http://www.defcon.org

2600

'The Hacker Quarterly' was recently prohibited from providing information and links regarding DeCSS, a tool for breaking DVD encryption.

http://www.2600.org

SecurityFocus.com

Good discussion and information site tailored to corporate needs. Questions are answered by leading authorities in the security industry. Links lead to news, books, mailing lists, tools and products, and security services and a sizeable collection of security advisories, vulnerabilities and solutions available on the Internet. Resources may be customized via a "personalize" option on the home page. Its Bugtraq mailing list is one of the most read security mailing lists on the Internet.

http://www.securityfocus.com/

National Infrastructure Protection Center

A news and information center for the arm of the FBI founded by Presidential edict two years ago as a joint government and private sector partnership dealing with illegal intrusions into government and private sector computer systems. FBI press releases and two dated whitepapers are of limited use or interest. Go directly to the job opportunities page where you'll find:

" Professional experience in information security, computer investigations, the operation of various critical infrastructure sectors, or intelligence collection and analysis are also highly valued. Employment opportunities may arise from time to time. Those interested in a position at the National Infrastructure Protection Center should refer to the FBI Employment Page."

http://www.nipc.gov/employment.htm