Another good article about JP
Hey everybody... I was browsing through the internet and came through this article. I thought it will be a good idea to share it with other members. I think a lot of people know about it but I am sure some of valued members doesn't. I think JP is so dedicated to his work. I didn't know he was in the 10th grade when he founded AntiOnline. Very well done JP.
With attention focused on computer security, people — hackers and the hacked alike — are looking for a definitive resource about hacking.
John Vranesevich's AntiOnline Web site is that resource. The site is "dedicated to educating the public on computer security related issues," as he said in an e-mail interview. Vranesevich, now 20, founded AntiOnline when he was in 10th grade.
Both hackers and system administrators converge on his site, which acts as a digest for reports from both sides. Additionally, AntiOnline often breaks news of hacks with exclusive, first-hand information and interviews. Analyzer, the Israeli hacker who was arrested for breaking into he Pentagon's computers, talked to Vranesevich (who's known on-line as JP) before Analyzer was arrested.
The interview, like other information he gets, was posted on his site. AntiOnline publishes many of Vranesevich's communications in a raw, let-the-reader-decide format, generally accompanied by a summary.
He said a "substantial number" of visitors to his site are students looking for information they're not getting in class. "In a day and age where new security issues arise on a daily basis, colleges simply can't keep their curriculum up-to-date enough. That is, colleges that offer courses in information security at all," Vranesevich said.
ABC News called AntiOnline "a Rick's Cafe in the 'Casablanca' world of hacking" — a description which Vranesevich displays on his site. Vranesevich founded the site to further his belief that "the workings of programs and technology should be open to public review. Allow people to find, and then fix, the problems inherent to the system. That is the only true way to guarantee the security of a system."
Is he worried that the information he publishes could be used maliciously? "There was a time when plantation owners would deny their slaves the ability to learn how to read, write, and educate themselves. It is very easy to control aspects of peoples lives that they don't know any better about. Complacency. It goes back to a phrase which comes up time and time again in hacker culture 'Knowledge is Power.' Sure, almost all of the information on my site could be used by someone to break into a system. But, on the reverse, it can also be used by administrators to secure their systems," he said.
Also, AntiOnline's content is nothing new to hackers, he said.
"Hackers already are aware of the information I post on my site for the most part. What I do by publishing it on my Web site in such an easy to understand format, is to allow system admins to learn of common exploits as well, and to be on level playing ground with the malicious hackers (often referred to as crackers). A phrase I often use: 'Hackers Know The Weaknesses In Your System, Shouldn't You?'"
In addition to reporting on his site, Vranesevich has himself become a respected authority on hacking. He is often quoted in press accounts of hacking-related incidents. AntiOnline has brought Vranesevich negative attention, too. He no longer attends college. "I went to the University of Pittsburgh at Pittsburgh for one year, was nearly expelled, so I left," he said.
Officials at the school banned Vranesevich from using any of the campus' computing resources because he ran AntiOnline from his room, an action university administrators said was against their on-campus computing policy. Vranesevich says that his parents "tolerate" his work with the site.
Others have also reacted to the content on his site. "I've been threatened with legal action from the DISA (Defense Information System Agency, a division of the Department of Defense)," he said.
Those who see Vranesevich's site as dangerous "don't truly understand technology, and computer security," he said. "There are still some old, close minded people around, that think 'secrecy is security.' If you have a secret, someone will find it out, that simple."
Vranesevich's immediate plans include AntiOnline. "AntiOnline has just gone corporate, and a new site has been under development for the past five months," he said. "There will be very large and noticeable changes within the next two months."
What does he see as the role of hacking in the information age? "Good question. I don't think we've seen an answer to it yet," he said. "Things are still far too much in their infancy. Ask me again in 10 years or so." Whatever the answer, AntiOnline and Vranesevich will undoubtedly be there to report it.
