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Thread: 'White Hat' Worm, White hat perspective..

  1. #11
    Senior Member gore's Avatar
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    There is no Mercy, We create Mercy,
    We manufacture it in the parts of our brain that have overgrow our basic reptile instincts,

    There is no Murder, We create Murder,
    And it matters only to us,
    For we are no where,
    And this..... Is nothingness

  2. #12
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    I want to make another point here...
    I notice alot of people are against black hats, not saying that's a bad thing.
    If we din't have any black hats, alot of us would be out of a job.
    For our benefit, shouldn't we embrace black hats as just another person, not blow them off?
    The people that don't benefit from black hats, I can see where your coming from.
    For the people who benefit, why so harsh?
    \"keep your friends close, your enemys closer, and your administrator closest.\"

  3. #13
    Senior Member nihil's Avatar
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    If we din't have any black hats, alot of us would be out of a job.
    Just as a lot of cops would be out of a job if there were no crime?

    Not very realistic IMO. They are there, and they will not go away. That does not make what they do right in any shape or form. Remember that security is not just about hacking, it is about asset protection and crime prevention. Really, computers and the internet are just a new environment in which to comit old crimes. For example, fraud has been going on since the days of ledgers and quill pens.

    People were finding work in IT long before security became such an issue. Anyway this is usually given to the network support/administration guys, so it is frequently an additional burden as opposed to a sole occupation. I think that you overestimate the number of people who "benefit" from black hats.

    just a thought

    As for your first question. The concept of a "white hat worm" is wrong, but NOT IMMORAL. It is unprofessional, as they are unleashed on environments that the writer has no knowledge of. No IT professional worthy of the name would roll-out new software or an upgrade into a production environment without testing it on a reference machine first.


  4. #14
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    Plus, by creating one of these worms, you are assuming that people actually want to have their computer's patched. Even saying that your code was 100% correct, most people don't like the idea of something happening on their computer that they don't authorise. Personally I can see the advantages of "whit-hat worms", but only if there are safeguards built in to stop them from getting outside your own network; by that point in time they are merely network distributing patches (if you know what I mean).

    But I don't like the point about certain worms being written for evil intent. I dislike the frequent use of evil by people as though there is some solid good and evil. And you have to remember that a lot of people are probably curious to "see what'll happen". Does that make them evil? I would say they are simply naive or misguided.

    Anyhow, I apologise if that came over as a rant.

    ac

  5. #15
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    No IT professional worthy of the name would roll-out new software or an upgrade into a production environment without testing it on a reference machine first.
    Exepting for the *cough* professionals, at the DWP.
    What happens if a big asteroid hits the Earth? Judging from realistic simulations involving a sledge hammer and a common laboratory frog, we can assume it will be pretty bad. - Dave Barry

  6. #16
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    Originally posted here by nihil
    They are there, and they will not go away. That does not make what they do right in any shape or form.
    I agree that they will never go away, so why so harsh?
    If I could, I would remove all crime from the universe, but I'm only on lvl 88.

    Originally posted here by nihil
    People were finding work in IT long before security became such an issue. Anyway this is usually given to the network support/administration guys, so it is frequently an additional burden as opposed to a sole occupation. I think that you overestimate the number of people who "benefit" from black hats.
    There is more people in comp. security then just IT.
    You have comp. stores, games, security software, pritty much any software.
    There is not alot of dedicated jobs to security, but huge amounts of money are spent on security.
    \"keep your friends close, your enemys closer, and your administrator closest.\"

  7. #17
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    A "White-Hat" worm designed to auto-patch vulnerable systems, IMO, would be no different than a "White-Hat" burglar who was "upgrading the locks" on my house without my permission, or for that matter, the police randomly breaking into my house and forcing me to fix my s***ty locks. It my effing house, and if I want to leave it unlocked, that's my right to do so, regardless of the repercussions. This is one case where I simply do not believe that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. Unless privacy is jealosly guarded and fought for, it will be lost. This is why the civilized nations of the world require a warrant for such an invasion.

    A virus is still a virus, regardless of its purpose. It still consumes bandwidth, it still sets of IDS systems, and still requires time and money to investigate. I personally don't care if it's a so called "good virus". There is no such thing.

    In other words, the ends cannot justify the means.
    Government is like fire - a handy servant, but a dangerous master - George Washington
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  8. #18
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    Originally posted here by Striek
    A virus is still a virus, regardless of its purpose. It still consumes bandwidth, it still sets of IDS systems, and still requires time and money to investigate. I personally don't care if it's a so called "good virus". There is no such thing.
    That's like saying there is no such thing as a good hacker.
    The point of the article was to tell white hats not to become a "hero" and to use "white hat" worms on computers you have permission for.
    I wanted to make sure white hats were not misguided.

    Note-Tools can be used for good or bad.
    \"keep your friends close, your enemys closer, and your administrator closest.\"

  9. #19
    Senior Member nihil's Avatar
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    That's like saying there is no such thing as a good hacker.
    This is your problem, my friend................you are misunderstanding the word "hacker". In the old days it just meant a highly skilled individual. If we use that definition, then you have three basic sorts:

    1. Those who use their skills to do their legitimate jobs (White Hat)
    2. Those who use them to satisfy their personal curiosity or interests (Grey Hats)
    3. Those who use them for criminal and malicious purposes (Black Hats)

    Another scenario: which would you rather have?

    1. A virus or worm that takes you a week to sort out? (Black Hat)
    2. A software house spends 18 months on a project and produces an application that is useless (why does the UK government IT procurement come to mind ) (White Hat)

    What I am saying is that there is a difference between software and what it does; and the PEOPLE who created/used it and their motivations.

    If you sit down and draw yourself a decision matrix (logic box) I am sure it will become clearer?

    Cheers

  10. #20
    Now, RFC Compliant! Noia's Avatar
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    With all the subtlety of an artillery barrage / Follow blindly, for the true path is sketchy at best. .:Bring OS X to x86!:.
    Og ingen kan minnast dei linne drag i dronningas andlet den fagre dag Då landet her kvilte i heilag fred og alle hadde kjærleik å elske med.

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