Former Hacker Thinks PSN Still Isn't Secure

[kebab4you]

So how do you find skilled Crackers to do that? One may be more skilled then the other. Other then that, I like his idea.

By putting a recruitment file behind your security, then hope a hacker come to answer it. =p

"Hi there mr/mrs Cracker/Hacker apparently you got through our security[footnote]Fire our IT mangager[/footnote] and a spot just got open, are you looking for a job? I'm sure you´re more then enough qualified, just call this number _____ if you´re intrested.

Have a good day!"

 

[Magikarp]

When he explains his analogy, I can't help but think of the IT consultants as Moss and Roy from the IT crowd, at which point I feel as though he's talking some serious sense...

Spoiler

Don't be stupid, those two could take on a navy seal any day.

 

[Kopikatsu]

LulzSec The Lulz Boat
I hear there's been some funny scamming with jacked Sony accounts. That's what you get for using the same password everywhere. #LulzLesson

LulzSec The Lulz Boat
Don't worry, our site has received attacks non-stop since literally 2 minutes after we tweeted it - doesn't affect leaks in the slightest.

LulzSec The Lulz Boat
176LRX4WRWD5LWDMbhr94ptb2MW9varCZP | Thank you for $62 worth of donations. We're taking a break right now, then more hacking!

LulzSec The Lulz Boat
LulzSec is a team of entertainment and security experts that specialise in the production of malicious comedic cybermaterials.

...So many things wrong with this. Let's start with the top one...if that's true, then the hack is way worse than the PSN hack. Still zero claims of fraud with that information, but with this batch...

It's nice that people are trying to bring down LulzSec...but step your game up. Please?

Who the hell donated $62? Why? Gahness.

They spelled specialize incorrectly. THE FOOLS!

 

[Andronicus]

They spelled specialize incorrectly. THE FOOLS!

What are you talking about? Looks fine to me.

Honestly, you'll be saying 'colour' doesn't have a 'u' in it next...

 

[Kopikatsu]

They spelled specialize incorrectly. THE FOOLS!

What are you talking about? Looks fine to me.

Honestly, you'll be saying 'colour' doesn't have a 'u' in it next...

Specialise is the English way of spelling it. Since they mentioned their donation amount in USD (The donations came in the form of Bit Coins, so they exchanged it for USD all on their own.), I would assume the poster is in the US...where the spelling is specialize, not specialise. DETECTIVE WORK, SON! (That's a joke)

 

[GonzoGamer]

Seriously being a hacker must be awesome, after a life of crime you get hired as a security consultant, awesome. But back to the original topic, I'm surprised that Sony didn't think that they should test out their system with people who could actually hack it.

Yea. They're kind of like the modern day Frank Abagnales... just not as charismatic.
Sony really should be hiring hackers at this point. Not just to help to secure but also by showing that they aren't openly antagonistic as they appear to be towards hackers.

 

[Chase Yojimbo]

I used to always wonder why didn't the people who were getting hacked just hire the people who were hacking them? Is there a reason why they won't? I guess it's a little like hiring your Rapist to watch your bakery.

 

[rickynumber24]

So a criminal ex-hacker who owes a lot of money thinks criminal ex-hackers should get more jobs. Also WHOOOOOSH! NAVY SEALS!

You do realize that, once you strip away the military analogies, what he's really saying is, "Set a thief to catch a thief."

Really, the only way to learn how to defend against a lot of this stuff (because you'll forget otherwise) is by exploiting them yourself to learn how the vulnerabilities work, and most people don't get that opportunity. For example, I did not have an opportunity to take a class that actually dealt with the mechanics of security vulnerabilities until I was a graduate student in ECE or CS. I'm not sure how many IT professionals have a masters degree in that. You'll get good at defending against this sort of thing a lot more quickly if you study it on the side, and it's largely the people who've been doing it for fun and profit who have the requisite experience.

EDIT: or what this guy said:

Seriously being a hacker must be awesome, after a life of crime you get hired as a security consultant, awesome. But back to the original topic, I'm surprised that Sony didn't think that they should test out their system with people who could actually hack it.

Yea. They're kind of like the modern day Frank Abagnales... just not as charismatic.
Sony really should be hiring hackers at this point. Not just to help to secure but also by showing that they aren't openly antagonistic as they appear to be towards hackers.

 

[Lono Shrugged]

snip

I totally agree but it's just funny considering he owes so much money and he's pretty much using these attacks as free press for his services.

 

[tjoris9]

IT professionals aren't soldiers and hackers aren't the Navy SEALS.

At worst IT professionals are mall cops and hackers are skater punks with spray paint that think if they vandalize the mall enough they'll "make a difference".

At best hackers are the guys that broke into your house, raped and killed your wife and daughter, stole everything of value, then burned your house down, and IT professionals are the cops sent to catch the bastard.

It's kind of reminiscent of when what's-his-name got sued by Sony and decided to ask for a job as one of his "demands". Sorry, kid, but YOU ONLY CREATED THE BIGGEST INTERNET SECURITY FIASCO EVER. Here's a spatula, now get to flipping them burgers, because putting "hacked Sony's PS3 and published how to do it on the internet" on your resumee doesn't really make you look good.

Honestly, hiring hackers to create your internet security scheme really isn't that good an idea. So let's say Hotzhead can make a console so secure that only people with intimate knowledge of it's infrastructure can hack or modify it. How can Sony trust him to keep that info secret? They can't, at least not without being blackmailed at every turn.

I find it really interesting how the guys that hacked Sony Pictures tried to justify their actions by saying it was to show holes in Sony's internet defenses, except they PUBLISHED ALL THE INFO THEY STOLE FOR EVERYBODY TO SEE, which makes life easier for more criminally-minded hackers. Don't let this scumbag romanticize hackers for you or make you think they're so much more "1337" than the people trying to protect you from them. They are at best idealistic vigilantes with a misguided sense of justice and not a clue about the harm their actions cause to their real victims (The customers of the hacked businesses) and at worst criminals who will get away with as much as they can at your expense before they get sent to prison... where they belong.

 

[imperialreign]

I've been a supporter of this idea since the mid 90s, and funny enough, large corporations used to make extensive use of these practices for securing their systems. It wasn't until the early 2000s when more "professional" IT trainees started entering the market, and most of the big systems had been secured, did the practice change.

We're literally back where we were 10 years ago.

Like the whole Navy Seals and Infantry thing he said there. Really nice. Part of me agrees that what he is saying is the truth but companies look Sony would need to be careful. Can't have back doors can't they?

The method they used to emply, once they busted someone for hacking a system, was to threaten them with significant amounts of both jail time and fines - or turn coat and work for the companies they hacked. If anything were to go amiss, they were the first to be accussed, and due to their track record they wouldn't have had a leg to stand on. With such punishments looming over their head, most would keep themselves on the straight and narrow . . .

 

[smithy1234]

IT professionals aren't soldiers and hackers aren't the Navy SEALS.

At worst IT professionals are mall cops and hackers are skater punks with spray paint that think if they vandalize the mall enough they'll "make a difference".

At best hackers are the guys that broke into your house, raped and killed your wife and daughter, stole everything of value, then burned your house down, and IT professionals are the cops sent to catch the bastard.

It's kind of reminiscent of when what's-his-name got sued by Sony and decided to ask for a job as one of his "demands". Sorry, kid, but YOU ONLY CREATED THE BIGGEST INTERNET SECURITY FIASCO EVER. Here's a spatula, now get to flipping them burgers, because putting "hacked Sony's PS3 and published how to do it on the internet" on your resumee doesn't really make you look good.

Honestly, hiring hackers to create your internet security scheme really isn't that good an idea. So let's say Hotzhead can make a console so secure that only people with intimate knowledge of it's infrastructure can hack or modify it. How can Sony trust him to keep that info secret? They can't, at least not without being blackmailed at every turn.

I find it really interesting how the guys that hacked Sony Pictures tried to justify their actions by saying it was to show holes in Sony's internet defenses, except they PUBLISHED ALL THE INFO THEY STOLE FOR EVERYBODY TO SEE, which makes life easier for more criminally-minded hackers. Don't let this scumbag romanticize hackers for you or make you think they're so much more "1337" than the people trying to protect you from them. They are at best idealistic vigilantes with a misguided sense of justice and not a clue about the harm their actions cause to their real victims (The customers of the hacked businesses) and at worst criminals who will get away with as much as they can at your expense before they get sent to prison... where they belong.

Hackers are the people that shape and drive internet technologies forward by thinking outside the box and putting current coding languages to their limits. Show a little respect, they're not a bunch of skater punks.

 

[Swifteye]

I remember watching a show called american greed where this very talentled hacker was lifting credit card codes from his car right outside stores where they were being used. Eventually this bloke was caught and they did the catch me if you can strategy of turning him into someone that can help them solve problems. And that's what they did. But after they turned him loose he used his inside knowledge to wreak an even bigger heist than before.

In the end there was nothing truly wrong with the man that geared him towards his actions which is concerning seeing as if he was some sort of megalomaniac or a sociopath we could have chocked it up to that and consider hiring hackers to help us out but seeing as that wasn't the case that has to linger in everyone's head (what if he stabs us in the back?)