Ethical Hackers 2

In a follow up to my post about ethical hackers, I found an article about a Cyber Challenge which was looking into getting teenagers and young adults, who have are partial to hacking, interested in cybersecurity jobs. “In the eyes of the organizers of the Maryland Cyber Challenge and Conference, today’s hacker could be tomorrow’s cybersecurity hero.”  Realizing that there is a shortage of security professionals in the work force, those who ran the whole conference, intended to help those who attended see the great aspects of cybersecurity. The challenge itself was:

an all-day brain tester for eight high school and eight college teams. The college students had to hack into a computer, gain control, and rummage through files for valuable information. Meanwhile the high-schoolers were required to defend six computer servers against attacks by cunning computer professionals seated across the room.

It would seem that the “Ethical Hacker” is a much needed resource in this day and age.

Article: http://www.homelandsecuritynewswire.com/cyber-challenge-encourages-teen-hackers-seek-security-jobs

Cyber Security Insurance-Related Industry

The introduction to the Bruce Schneier’s book Secrets & Lies alluded to an industry that will be booming in the upcoming years,  insurance company-driven Cyber Security Providers.

Mr. Schneier pointed out that many companies and organizations don’t invest enough money and effort into protecting their digital data. Making sure that data is safe from potential attack or theft is a new concept to non-tech savvy business leaders, and one that isn’t at the top of many company’s priority list.  Unfortunately attacks are becoming more widespread and more complex, so the likelihood that a business will be attacked increases daily.  To off-set the threat and the possible losses incurred from an attack, some business owners are turning to insurance policies.

Mr. Schneier feels that as more business owners turn to cyber insurance policies, the insurance industry will push for cyber security providers to supply better services (to better protect business owners).  The demand for services will increase, and so will the need for some sort of industry standards for cyber security providers.  Looking forward from Mr. Schneier’s viewpoints, one can see a new service industry spring up to meet the needs of standardized and strong cyber security services to meet insurance company requirements.

A similar “cottage-industry” boom occurred in the late 1990s as companies rushed to prepare their computer systems for Y2K, but that was a temporary surge in demand.  Conversely, cyber crime and attacks will only increase as global economies suffer and people become more desperate to find alternative sources of income.  To see how important it is, just look at the Information, Security and Forensics program that is growing in popularity here at RIT.  The emergence of the Cyber Insurance industry will increase the need for more highly trained professional, and should lead to plenty of long-term employment opportunities for people with the right skill set.

Hackers 101

I came across this article on the “How Stuff Works” website. It has a lot to do with many of the things we talked about in class. Not a lot more in depth but still it ties things together nicely for anyone that still could use a simple smooth overview.

It goes more into detail about hackers themselves however; history, culture, motivation and things like that. It even has a part about the problems hackers have with the law…or perhaps more accurately the problems the law has with them.

The reasons why I included the article however were the videos that were good to watch, the links to various hacker websites and there was even a simple short quiz at the end regarding computer security. For you more advanced about hackers and computer security the article might seem simplistic but the links were somewhat interesting, including one called “Could hackers devastate the U.S. economy?” ; if you are like me you will end up clicking on links till you look at the clock and realize you need to get to bed.

For those of you that could use a quick overview of many of the things we’ve covered n class there are links at the end that you might find helpful about things like phishing, types of viruses and encryption.

I hope some of you find this helpful.

http://computer.howstuffworks.com/hacker.htm

File Sharing, Right or Wrong?

Earlier this week, during class we watched a video called What Do You Think? The video is a short documentary discussing file sharing.  In the video we see several college students express their opinions and views on file sharing and intellectual property.  There was also a survey done in the same light as the video, here are its results:

According to the IP Institute’s March 2006 survey of college students, more than one-third (34 percent) of college students are illegally downloading music from free peer-to-peer file sharing networks. Thirty-nine percent say they pay for downloads, while two in five college students say they never get music online. Among other findings:

• The two most popular locations for downloading were college campuses (53 percent) and students’ parents’ homes (19 percent)
• Of those who never download music (free or paid), 53 percent equate it to “stealing” while 44 percent don’t see a problem with it
• More than half of respondents (54 percent) said they weren’t sure whether illegal downloads were against their college or university’s policies
• Almost three in four students (71 percent) said that illegal downloads “hurt record companies,” and more than half (56 percent) said they “hurt established musicians.”
• 74 percent said downloads “help up-and-coming musicians,” ostensibly because the students believe the file-sharing helps to increase the musicians’ exposure
• 14 percent of students use “work-arounds”—software employed to counter the anti-copying technologies used by programs like iTunes.

From my point of view, file sharing, particularly the downloading of music is ethically challenged as there are points to be made when talking about file sharing in a positive light but at the same time one should be able to see the possible harm that it can cause for those involved in the creation of the work. What do you think of the matter?

Survey information taken from http://law.richmond.edu/about/centers/ipi/ncep.html

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This blog provides opportunities for students of RIT’s Cyber Self Defense classes to post their thoughts on information security topics of their choosing and to discuss those posts. If you’re in a class section using this blog, please read the requirements concerning posts and comments in your syllabus. If you’re visiting, welcome to the blog.