Al Jazeera
_Hackers meet in 'geeks' paradise'_
(http://blogs.aljazeera.net/europe/2010/09/19/hackers-meet-geeks-paradise)
By _Rory Challands_ (http://blogs.aljazeera.net/profile/rory-challands)
September 19th, 2010.
Away from the elegance of Budapest's historic centre, a dingy rock venue
has been turned into a geek's paradise. The laptop screens glow in the dim
light as fingers flicker quickly over keyboards. Lines of code,
incomprehensible to all but the cognoscenti, are typed out.
This is _Hacktivity_ (http://hacktivity.hu/portal/en) - an annual
conference for hackers. They've come in their hundreds from all over eastern
Europe and beyond. The organisers have set up two days of workshops, talks,
and
games so the hackers can hone their skills. In one game, the players have
to race to break into a computer application designed to censor websites.
Illegal? Not here. The company that made the technology is actually here
to oversee its vandalism. Cisco Systems, McAfee, Symantec ... some of the
biggest names in computer security are at Hacktivity to court the hackers.
Their branding is all over this event.
Quite why software companies should be flirting with the very people many
would consider their enemies is explained to me by the tech security guru,
Bruce Schneier. "Hackers are basically security experts" he tells me.
"There are a lot of bright people here and the vendors want to be a part of
that".
Essentially, the hackers are guys you want on your side if you have
anything to do with computers. In the 21st century, with the cyber revolution
in
full swing, hackers have the knowledge and therefore the power too.
Most of them I spoke to here call themselves 'White Hat' hackers. That
means they use their skills to expose flaws in software, and then point the
weaknesses out to vendors so they can be fixed. Or, they work with companies
strengthening their cyber defences against data theft, fraud, or sabotage.
On the dark side are the 'Black Hat' hackers. Their behaviour can range
from the relatively harmless, like leaving mischievous calling cards embedded
in networks they've infiltrated, to bringing down the financial and
communications systems of whole governments. This actually happened in Estonia
in
2007. The attack is believed to have come from Russia.
I ask Alexander Kornbrust, who runs Red Database Security, which side is
winning. "They are" he says. "The attackers only have to find one way in,
while the defenders have to protect all fronts." Alexander gives a lesson
from history. "Even the strongest castle was eventually overrun."
So what does the future hold? Governments are waking up to the idea that
hacking is going to play an important role in coming wars. Bruce Schneier
says cyber warfare will never replace conventional warfare, a view advanced
by the hacker Felix 'FX' Lindner too. But he says a cyber attack to shut
down power grids, communications systems, and water supplies could well be
used before an army invasion.
After finishing my television report for the channel and sending it back
over the internet, I am approached by one of Hacktivity's organisers. He
looks concerned. "I think you'd better ask Al Jazeera to put some new
passwords in place," he says. "There are a lot of hackers round here."
--
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