O.K, maybe some one can tell me why so many self proclaimed "hackers" break into a website, deface the site, and then when the "hacker" is finally caught they use the cop out "I was saving the U.S. from foreign cyber terrorists," Not to sound like a pompous ass but if a foreign terrorist cracks into a web site, the only thing they can really do is deface the web site. So in effect these self proclaimed heroes or "hackers" are doing exactly what they say they're helping prevent.
I think their cop out might be valid if they first sent a detailed email to administrators regarding the security hole that they "stumbled" upon, but this is rarely the case. The same goes for most other crackers caught trespassing where they shouldn't be. It seems to me that kids have been paying way to much attention to movies like Hackers, The Matrix, and other cyber thrillers and are starting to actually believe that poking around in someone else's system is different then breaking into a government building, getting caught, and then saying, "But officer I was just testing they're security system" It's CRAP!.
In a recent article from Security focus, we see again the same thing. "Self-styled patriotic intruders deface a government airline security site and download a detailed screener database. Their proclaimed mission: saving the U.S. from foreign cyber terrorists." Maybe some day we'll have computer security that's just as good as physical security. Until then, we're sure to keep seeing these stories.
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