ZDNet UK / News and Analysis / Application Development

Hacker school teaches the good guys

By Staff, ZDNet US, 6 August, 2002 09:33

Daily Newsletters

Sign up to ZDNet UK's daily newsletter.

Topics

Hackers, Defcon, Hacktivism, ghettohackers, Viruses, Security, l0pht

NEWS
At a typical Wells Fargo branch in Seattle, employees and customers do business each day oblivious to a beehive of activity in the basement. There, five blue-walled rooms serve as makeshift classrooms for other tenants in the building who are light years from the world of banking: an organisation of some of the most talented computer hackers in the country. As menacing as this juxtaposition might seem, the group insists that its work is harmless and, in fact, is dedicated to doing good. The founders of GhettoHackers, as the group is called, say its 30-odd members teach others how to crack security only to find flaws so that defenses can be hardened. "The Ghetto are good guys. So I guess the way to look at us is (as) the boot camp for the people growing up to protect the world," said "Caezar," a 28-year-old security consultant and founding member, whose appearance -- which includes two spikes angling from his lip, as well as several body piercings -- might otherwise evoke unease in the buttoned-down culture one floor up. GhettoHackers is one of several groups trying to change the way society views hackers, as stereotypical malcontents interested only in crashing systems, stealing credit cards and releasing computer viruses. While cybercrime arrests make headlines regularly, groups like GhettoHackers are aiming to help those curious about information security get hands-on experience without doing harm to others. As unconventional as it may be, the underground school is serious about its curriculum. Homework assignments frequently mark up the white boards that face clusters of bean-bag chairs, making it look sort of like a clubhouse for adults. "We've put a password file on the server," challenged a recent lesson on the boards. "Grab the file and run a password breaker against it." To the several men and two women of GhettoHackers, this is "home." The hands-on approach appears to work. "I'm learning more doing what I'm doing right now than I would in school," said one student, who goes by "Zsnark" because a more common moniker might undercut his credibility in this anarchical world. At 18, he's put college on hold to study security here. The group's work was even more frenetic than usual this week as it prepared for Defcon, a controversial annual hacker convention that begins Friday in Las Vegas and that, in past years, has hosted people on the FBI's wanted list. Having won Defcon's "Capture the Flag" hacking tournament for three years running, GhettoHackers has been put in charge of the event this year and must act as its system administrator, keeping the network running despite rampant hacking activity. The contest will stress the group's philosophy that hacking can be a positive act, especially for those still at an impressionable age. Typically, two types of people are drawn to hacking: those who want to learn and those who want to express power over their environment. Growing up, Caezar found himself flirting with the dark side. But after playing around with a telephone card scheme that let him make unlimited calls, a visit from two anonymous officials telling him to stop abusing the phone network scared him enough that he stopped. Now, he pegs himself as knowledge-driven and hopes to save like-minded hackers from his experience, or worse. "It's hard to tell the difference between a police academy and a terrorist training camp if you don't know the social structure they are in," Caezar said, using the analogy to explain why many people fail to distinguish a "good" hacker from a "bad" one. "They both learn target practice and 'how do we defeat things that are coming at us?' These are things that are common between the good guys and the bad guys." That philosophy can be seen in the development of young people like Zsnark, the newest member of the group. He is able to ask for help from experts on hand without getting the common "RTFM" dismissal (Read the F***ing Manual). "If I have a question, there is someone here that can answer it." For the older members, it's a matter of legitimacy. Aside from some security consulting firms that employ them for their knowledge and ability to attract media attention, most reputable companies won't hire people who label themselves "hackers." "Some people can make money off their name as a hacker. But most of the time, calling yourself one is a liability," said "md5," a 27-year-old member of the group and the chief executive officer of his own consulting firm. "Most companies don't care if you are into stamp collecting or rock climbing, but tell a client that you like to hack and they don't call you anymore." Md5's company employs several of the young hackers he teaches, but he doesn't bring up their hobbies with clients who depend on them to secure their networks. Both activities are important to security, he said, "both knowing how to find weakness and how to secure information." And both pursuits will be represented Friday at Defcon, which has become over the past 10 years a popular mainstream event attracting news media from around the world. For all its publicity, however, companies still don't understand that hackers are not necessarily malicious in nature or intent. That's unlikely to change anytime soon, said Chris Wysopal, director of research and development for digital security firm @Stake. "Ethical hacking means different things to different people," he said. "To some, it means hacking for security's sake. For others, it is more hacktivism. Then there is hacking for the pure pursuit of research." Still, he respects GhettoHackers for trying to change the culture from within, as well as educate the public at large. "The traditional way that a lot of hacking skills have been handed down is the apprentice-master way of teaching," said Wysopal, a one-time member of the Cambridge, Massachusetts, ethical hacking group known as The L0pht. "In that case, it's important for the people who are teaching to be teaching ethics as well." Which is precisely what GhettoHackers is preaching. "It's all about teaching the younger people by giving them access to the hardware that 10 years ago they would have been stealing," Caezar said. "We just help bring people up in what's a really freaky landscape right now."
For all security-related news, including updates on the latest viruses, hacking exploits and patches, check out ZDNet UK's Viruses and Hacking News Section. Have your say instantly, and see what others have said. Go to the Security forum. Let the editors know what you think in the Mailroom.

Related stories

Italian hackers: Business or leisure?

Hackers face life sentence

DefCon: hacking for human rights

Perens: Linux could learn from Apple

Post your comment

In order to post a comment you need to be registered and logged in.

You can also log in with Facebook. Log in or create your ZDNet UK account below

  • Login

Will not be displayed with your comment

By signing up for this service, you indicate that you agree to our Terms and Conditions and have read and understood our Privacy Policy. Questions about membership? Find the answers in the Community FAQ

Get ZDNet UK's daily newsletter

Enter your email address to sign up

ZDNet UK Live

JCB33

How dare film makers, artists or anybody that invests in creativity stop us pirating their works for free. I want to be able to walk into my local...

3 hours ago by JCB33 on ACTA stumbles in Germany
Moley

@GrueMaster. I prefer horses for courses rather than one size fits all. I, and I suspect most other computer users, do not really wish to have...

5 hours ago by Moley on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
greycynic

The product that scares me every time I have to use it is the Office 2007 version of Excel. The first bug that I found was applying the median...

5 hours ago by greycynic on Ten flawed products that derail productivity
GrueMaster

Nice review and very informative. One thing I'd like to add (in reply to whs001's 1st question), the main reason to have the same interface from...

7 hours ago by GrueMaster on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Frederick Wrigley

I'be been using Mint 12 since the RC came out, and I am far more happy with the Cinnamon, the Mate, and, yes (with extensions), theGnome 3...

7 hours ago by Frederick Wrigley via Facebook on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
bdantas

Excellent article. One small correction, though--although a fresh installation of Linux Mint 12 will, indeed, provide the user with a version of...

8 hours ago by bdantas on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Alan Ralph

In related news, the ISPs club together to get the members of the Home Affairs Select Committee (ya goofed on that part, ZDNet UK) copies of "The...

9 hours ago by Alan Ralph via Facebook on MPs urge ISPs to take down terrorist material
Alan Ralph

In related news, the ISPs club together to get the members of the Home Affairs Select Committee (ya goofed on that part, ZDNet UK) copies of "The...

9 hours ago by Alan Ralph via Facebook on MPs urge ISPs to take down terrorist material
Moley

For Gnome 2 die-hards, it is possible to add icons to the bottom panel (or top top panel, if you prefer) which provide the exact Gnome 2...

9 hours ago by Moley on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
ramwellian

Your comments would seem pretty naive and immature. Your 'solution' appears to be, "gee, let's all just give in to the hackers and give them...

10 hours ago by ramwellian on Cloud computing security: no more oxymoron?
BugStalker

"Interesting thought ... If you installed Win7 as a dual boot on a machine that previously only had Linux, and it wrecked your Linux installation,...

10 hours ago by BugStalker on Windows 7 Declares War on GRUB
whs001

This is an excellent summary of Ubuntu and Mint and the interface differences between them. Most such articles take a very partisan position for...

10 hours ago by whs001 on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Moley

@ewallace. Not so clear. Anyone can obtain the text, for example from here http://www.ustr.gov/webfm_send/2379. I support ACTA so long as it and...

10 hours ago by Moley on ACTA: Facts, misconceptions and questions
45283

I think WinRT is fantastic. I just wish it was an option for people that didn't want to go through Microsoft's App Store with its attendant...

13 hours ago by 45283 on Why Windows 8 needs architectural hygiene for WOA
Burn-IT

Nine people? £30m? Who's back pocket is that lot going in? And IF they say it is for new buildings, what about all the ones the government has...

14 hours ago by Burn-IT on Police set to launch three £30m e-crime hubs
ewallace

Just to be clear, nobody knows what is in the text of ACTA, here is a photograph of the text of ACTA http://twitpic.com/8h9iju as submitted to the...

15 hours ago by ewallace on ACTA: Facts, misconceptions and questions
fgvrg56

Unfortunately main issue is that ASUS is refusing to accept that they make some mistake on this version of asus Transformer prime. 1 - GPS sensor...

16 hours ago by fgvrg56 on Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime Wi-Fi & GPS problems?
Ben Woods

@Marcus A fair question. Just talked with Archos which said it was working on an announcement for next week....

17 hours ago by Ben Woods on Archos confirms G9 Ice Cream Sandwich update schedule
Marcus Karlsson

Any update on this, considering the claimed "first week of February"?

18 hours ago by Marcus Karlsson via Facebook on Archos confirms G9 Ice Cream Sandwich update schedule
apexwm

Bill Goodrich : Just as al_langevin pointed out, with Windows Server 2008 there is no Services for Macintosh anymore. It's gone, not available....

1 day ago by apexwm on Windows Server 2008 drops the ball for Mac compatibility

Latest in Application Development

Perens: Linux could learn from Apple

Featured white papers

10 safety tips for business in 2012

Symantec.cloud

10 safety tips for business in 2012

From cloud computing to remote working, your business should consider these ways to keep your business secure as traditional IT... Read more

Deliver easy email search, storage and retrieval systems

Symantec.cloud

Deliver easy email search, storage and retrieval systems

Are you storing up trouble? There is a better way to manage corporate email storage on every level, for every size and type of... Read more

Defining your data demands in simple steps

Symantec.cloud

Defining your data demands in simple steps

Data growth provides vital resources for your business, and you can manage its enormity through some simple... Read more

Inside ZDNet UK

A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

2012 Predictions: VCE FastPath, VI SAN Probe & Hadoop

2012 Predictions: VCE FastPath, VI SAN Probe & Hadoop

BlackBerry Bold 9790

BlackBerry Bold 9790

Case study: How cloud enables growth

Case study: How cloud enables growth

Ten factors that make Ubuntu 11.10 a hit

Ten factors that make Ubuntu 11.10 a hit

Toshiba Portégé Z830-10P Review

Toshiba Portégé Z830-10P Review

BT's archive: Pictures from the vault

BT's archive: Pictures from the vault