3 ms·

Shame their talent couldn't be used to do good indeed. Although posts about relatively young hackers who went the rogue black hat route always intrigue me. I

by zoover2020 4y ago

Shame their talent couldn't be used to do good indeed. Although posts about relatively young hackers who went the rogue black hat route always intrigue me. I used to be a super curious script kiddy but fortunately found my solace in programming (relatively unharmful) scripts for games and private servers that'd only affect virtual economies. But I also used to stroll gray/black hat forums out of curiosity and always wonder where I would've eventually end up if I did go down that path. Fortunately, I'm in FANG now and make good bucks to never have to consider black hat again. It's just in the back of my mind: what if ...?

dry_soup 4y ago
There wasn't much talent involved in this hack. The CEO and solo self-taught developer of the psychotherapy place left a test server running on the public internet with the username and password root / root.
riskpreneurship 4y ago
You would probably make more money if you were any good at gray/black hat stuff. Further, if you were less blatantly evil than this individual, you'd probably be able to finagle a slap on the wrist followed by a stable career in civilian street if/when you got busted. One of the things that you learn as you grow older is that you can't be successful and have a conscience at the same time in this world. Software developers are fortunate enough to be able to scrape out a comfortable existence without stooping too far, but don't kid yourself: the large TechCos that sign our paychecks and buy our startups are not paragons of virtue.
- jacquesm 4y ago
  Slight problem though: a slap on the wrist is still a criminal record, and if you're unlucky your 'slap on the wrist' may end up being a much harsher sentence and if you piss off the wrong person other kinds of retribution. Large TechCos can - for now - not be jailed but you can and you will, see TFA. Less blatantly evil doesn't mean you're going to walk away free, besides, you'll be a blackmail target for life. Oh, and it is quite possible to both be successful and to have a working conscience.

dry_soup 4y ago

There wasn't much talent involved in this hack. The CEO and solo self-taught developer of the psychotherapy place left a test server running on the public internet with the username and password root / root.

riskpreneurship 4y ago

You would probably make more money if you were any good at gray/black hat stuff. Further, if you were less blatantly evil than this individual, you'd probably be able to finagle a slap on the wrist followed by a stable career in civilian street if/when you got busted. One of the things that you learn as you grow older is that you can't be successful and have a conscience at the same time in this world. Software developers are fortunate enough to be able to scrape out a comfortable existence without stooping too far, but don't kid yourself: the large TechCos that sign our paychecks and buy our startups are not paragons of virtue.

jacquesm 4y ago
Slight problem though: a slap on the wrist is still a criminal record, and if you're unlucky your 'slap on the wrist' may end up being a much harsher sentence and if you piss off the wrong person other kinds of retribution. Large TechCos can - for now - not be jailed but you can and you will, see TFA. Less blatantly evil doesn't mean you're going to walk away free, besides, you'll be a blackmail target for life. Oh, and it is quite possible to both be successful and to have a working conscience.