ICANN Names Computer Hacker as Security Chief

[paularoid]

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=13483638

ICANN Names Computer Hacker as Security Chief

http://a.abcnews.com/images/Technology/ht_jeff_moss_2_jef_110429_wg.jpg

Jeff Moss, a prominent computer hacker who founded the annual Black Hat and DefCon security conferences in Las Vegas, has been hired as the chief security officer for the organization that coordinates names of the world's Web sites.

The organization, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN, plays a vital role in making sure that when you type a site name into a Web browser, your computer knows where to go to find the site you're trying to reach. ICANN manages the domain name system that underlies that chain of communication.

"I can think of no one with a greater understanding of the security threats facing Internet users and how best to defend against them than Jeff Moss," Rod Beckstrom, ICANN's CEO and formerly the director of the U.S. National Cybersecurity Center, said in a statement. "He has the in-depth insider's knowledge that can only come from fighting in the trenches of the ongoing war against cyber threats."

Moss, who also serves on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's advisory council, takes on the new post Friday at ICANN's offices in Washington, D.C.

[richthelandlord]

That's a sensible appointment, for exactly the reasons stated... although I hate to see the word 'hacker' misused so badly. It's sloppy journalism, and sloppy English.

A 'hacker' is somebody who re-purposes stuff - mechanical, electrical or indeed culture - to suit their purpose or satisfy their curiosity.

I'm a hacker, and several of you lot are too - the team from Mythbusters are hackers in the original sense... and so are the folk who figured out how to rescue Apollo 13. If you ever used panty-hose to repair a broken fan-belt, that's a hack.

A cracker is the one you need to be worried about... they crack systems the way a Peterman cracks safes. They want your identity for profit, or your bandwidth to break something bigger - they're just common criminals that work sitting down.

There is, of course, some overlap between the two... I know how to penetrate your system if you've not locked it down properly, or pick the lock on your house, or hot-wire your car, but I'm not going to try to without your permission.

The skill-sets often coincide, the fundamental difference is how you choose to use them.

[paularoid]

Which brings to mind the terms "white hat hacker" and "black hat hacker" . . . . . which as a sometime wearer of some black hats only -slightly- annoys me. I understand the reference . . . . . and the difference. :rolleyes:

[richthelandlord]

Which brings to mind the terms "white hat hacker" and "black hat hacker" . . . . . which as a sometime wearer of some black hats only -slightly- annoys me. I understand the reference . . . . . and the difference. :rolleyes:

Most of the ones I know would consider themselves grey-hats... essentially neutral, neither bad nor actively pursuing the bad ones - who are generally the architects of their own downfall in the end anyway.