Hackers: Experts in Their Field

When you think of someone being an expert in their field, commonly you think of someone with a Dr. in front of their name. However, with a hacker it is a little different, there is no real way to add the abbreviation to the beginning or end of their name. Plus, having the term “professional hacker” attached to your name may be cool to some, but like being a “professional hit man” it may not land you that corner office with a view of the bay.

However, a professional hacker is a highly skilled individual that knows their way in and out of a software, network, or database. These men and women have a skill set that allows them find holes in a system, but that is where the road can fork between a white hat and a black hat hacker. How will they use their skills and the information they have gathered?

How to Hack the Government!

What do you think of when you think of the government? Do you think of greed, corruption, and wasteful spending, or do you think of pride, liberty, and equality? Chances are if you think of the latter you may feel that hacking into the government would be fun and prove a point that they are not as powerful as they make themselves out to be. These feelings of distrust can be seen in the eyes of many hackers that make it a point to take down .gov websites.

Jeremy Hammond felt that way and wanted to take down those sites and all that were connected to the government.

Why Did the Hacker Cross the Road?

The age old question of “why did the chicken cross the road?” This random question has been asked time and time again by many people. This question really has less to do with chickens, it’s more of a question of why do hackers do what they do?

It depends on which type of hacker you look at really.

Hackers Gonna Hack

Whether a white hat hacker or a black hat hacker, “hackers gonna hack.” Now not all “hackers” are out for personal gain for to wreak havoc, but I do submit that whether white or black, they are addicted to hacking.

Benjamin Franklin: Hacker

This morning I was sent a link to a Ted Talk featuring Catherine Bracy, Why Good Hackers Make Good Citizens. A good friend thought I would be interested in this video since I write for this blog and they were right! In my life I like to look at the big picture and see what is beyond the painting or lyrics, what is the meaning of the words or imagery? It helps keep my mind open and fresh as an intellectual.

This Ted Talk was right up my alley and took a different approach to the term “hacker” and opened my eyes to a new term: “civic hacker.” A civic hacker is someone who sees a problem and wants to figure out a solution to make it better, improve a way of life or make a change for the greater good of society.  

She calls out Benjamin Franklin as a civic hacker, he invented so many things that we use everyday, however he invented something that is life saving and yet not something that immediately comes to mind when you think of the only non-president to grace a US currency note. He invented the first volunteer fire department. He recognized that Philadelphia’s fire department was struggling to put out fires in a timely manner, which was very troubling to him and he looked at the situation and thought there was room for improvement.

In 1733 he addressed this problem and a new concept to the city in the newspaper the Pennsylvania Gazette.

"Soon after it [a fire] is seen and cry'd out, the Place is crowded by active Men of different Ages, Professions and Titles who, as of one Mind and Rank, apply themselves with all Vigilance and Resolution, according to their Abilities, to the hard Work of conquering the increasing fire."

This action of civic hacking took a concept that existed and through innovation, improved on it to the point that it ended up revolutionizing the way we fight fires in America today. Growing up in a small town, we did not have a full time fire department; we had a volunteer fire department made up of men and women from all walks of life that would go into action when called upon.

The theory that Bracy presented of a hacker simply being someone who simply looks at something and makes improvements, it raised a question in my mind, who else could be considered a hacker? Henry Ford, Nikola Tesla, John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, and so many leaders of industry took a concept and improved it to make a better system. What do all of these men have in common beyond implementing improvements? They were all around before the internet and computers were ever conceived.

Current day civic hackers

The civic hacker, in modern times, can actually be seen all around us. For example authentication companies that provide two-factor authentication solutions to protect not only the company’s information and assets, but their customer’s personal information as well. Companies like PortalGuard and others understand the importance providing a secure way to login and protect information from getting into the wrong hands. Although two-factor authentication is not the end-all-be-all answer for protecting data from the black hat hackers of the world, it is a secure step in the right direction. 

Benjamin Franklin was a hacker, who knew?

The Hackers Cookbook

The title suggests that this posting may have some delicious recipes that hackers might enjoy, but I am thinking more like the classic book The Anarchist Cookbook, by Steven Schragis. However, I will provide you with a link with directions on how to be a white hat hacker!

A little history lesson: The Anarchist Cookbook

“The Anarchist Cookbook, first published in 1971, is a book that contains instructions for the manufacture of explosives, rudimentary telecommunications phreaking devices, and other items. The book also includes instructions for home manufacturing of illicit drugs, including LSD. It was written by William Powell at the apex of the counterculture era in order to protest against United States involvement in the Vietnam War.” -Wikipedia

For those of you who were not around when this book was published, this book caused a lot of controversy when it was published and of course grabbed the attention of the Feds at the FBI. One FBI memo called the book “one of the crudest, low-brow, paranoiac writing efforts ever attempted.”

The lack of a Hackers Cookbook

When considering that The Anarchist Cookbook was written as a proverbial middle finger to the government and an exercise in freedom of speech, how has there not been a similar book written about hacking? Hackers are known to rage against the machine and expose the corruption in either a corporation or government, wait didn’t Ralph Nader do a similar type of thing? More on Ralph ahead.

What I see the hackers cook book containing is not just tips on how to crack into a network or take down a website, but how to successfully protest and plan a movement that can make a statement. Because at the end of the day, isn’t that what hacking is all about? Beyond those who hack for either personal gain or to support an organization, we forget that even these brilliant computer geniuses serve a purpose. They can keep the checks and balances of society online.

The Ralph Nader Effect

Ralph Nader, beyond having a few unsuccessful Presidential runs over the years, started life as a protector of the people. Not in the sense of a member of a police department or military movement, he was interested in exposing safety problems that affect the average Joe. In 1965, he claimed that many US made automobiles were simply not safe and even published a book Unsafe at Any Speed. The internet was not around back then, but I am willing to bet he would have taken his research online if he had the opportunity. Specifically, Nader took aim at the Chevrolet Corvair, a rear engine compact car that had been involved in many accidents that resulted in lawsuits against Chevy’s parent company General Motors.

In typical corporate fashion, GM took to the streets and tried to discredit the claims and even went as far as to hire prostitutes to try and trap him into compromising positions, look it up on Wikipedia, it is interesting stuff. Nonetheless they could not stop him, and his efforts made the government take notice and instate a new division of government: the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Making the Connection

Nader was an activist, plain and simple. Many did not agree with his stance at the time, but like Schragis, he took his view of corruption and put his ideas out there, publishing them to make a difference. Even though The Anarchist Cookbook took a totally different angle of protest, are these two authors any different than White Hat and Black Hat hackers?

Nader being a White Hat hacker in the sense that he took his opinions of corruptions and wanted to put them to work in a positive light by publishing a book that spawned the development of a consumer safety organization, Schragis being a Black Hat of sorts by compiling a book of instructions to overthrow harm and cause chaos.

Perhaps I am far off here, what are your thoughts?

Oh yeah, here is the white hat instructions I promised you!  

Happy Holidays!  

5 Ways to Combat a Hacker Attack

Security crackers are an inevitable part of the cyber world. Whether we like it or not, security crackers will crack. Although we cannot stop these people from trying, we can however provide you with some tools and tips to help combat security crackers.

#1 Password Power:

Password power is a crucial first step to preventing security crackers from stealing your information. A combination of letters, numbers, and symbols is needed to reduce the chances of your password being stolen. In addition to this, the use of a password manager has also been proven to be helpful. This will generate random passwords, and also warn you when you are using the same password on multiple sites.  This way, if a security cracker were to guess your password, they would only gain access to that one account, not your entire life.

#2 Password Lock all Devices:

This is one of the initial steps to protect against security crackers.  Most of us own a tablet, computer, or smartphone.  These electronic devices house a lot of personal information.  These devices need to be locked, as they are key to your identity.  Even the simplest task of accessing one’s contacts can lead to a possible phishing attack against you and your friends.

#3 Two-Factor Authentication (2FA):

Initializing a two-factor authentication system is a good idea to protect against a security cracker. PortalGuard, a five layer user authentication solution-set, offers contextual authentication that creates transparent barriers to prevent unauthorized access and confirms user identities by validating multiple aspects of each user. The transparent barriers can validate something the user knows, has, does, etc. By using these transparent barriers, the authorized user is now allowed in, but the unauthorized user is kept out.

#4 Use a Secure Internet Connection:

Security crackers love to gain access to personal accounts through rogue Wi-Fi access points. This means that all one’s computer traffic will go through these fake access points. To prevent this from occurring, take some time to make sure you are entering a secure connection. Your Wi-Fi network, wherever you are, must be locked with a long, secure password and have a good encryption standard such as WPA/WPA2. Here is a link that shows you how to secure your home Wi-Fi.

#5 Don’t Link Accounts:

In this day in age, it is very hard to keep accounts separated on the Internet.  For example, numerous apps force you to use your Facebook login credentials to gain access to their webpage’s. If possible, use a separate account for each application.  This will decrease the chance of a security cracker gaining access to your entire cyber profile.

Cyber crimes are real and can happen to anyone. Take the precautions now to prevent your family, your friends, and yourself from a possible cracker attack.

 http://thenextweb.com/apps/2013/10/06/10-of-the-best-multi-platform-password-managers-for-ios-android-and-the-desktop/

https://blog.malwarebytes.org/privacy-2/2013/04/safeguarding-your-online-accounts-against-hackers/

http://www.labnol.org/internet/secure-your-wireless-wifi-network/10549/