Source:
Canoe
SINGAPORE (AP) - Singapore is organizing a contest to find the tech-savvy city-state's best computer hacker.
Six pairs will compete in the Aug. 20 BlackOPS: HackAttack Challenge 2004, organized by the government-funded National Infocomm Competency Center, its marketing manager Yvonne Choo said.
They will "penetrate, exploit, gain access and obtain privileged information from the other teams' servers, for the purpose of corporate espionage," the centre said on its Web site Tuesday.
Teams will also have to defend their organization's networks against hacking from other teams in the daylong event, it added.
Choo said he hoped the contest would help shed light on ways to prevent actual computer attacks.
The prize for the best hacker will be a DVD burner and free computer classes.
Asia has been the root of some of the worst attacks by hackers in recent years.
In May 2000, the so-called Love Bug virus, released in the Philippines, overwhelmed e-mail systems worldwide and caused tens of millions of dollars in damage.
Close to 80 per cent of Singapore's 4 million citizens own personal computers and the island is largely considered to be the most technologically advanced in Southeast Asia.
Hackers can be jailed for up to three years or fined up to the euivalent of $132,000 (US$5,810) under the city-state's Computer Misuse Act.