HACKING IS JUST FUN

This is one of my favourite times of year. It’s also SyScan time. For those of you not in the know, it’s an IT security conference. And I get to learn lots of new tricks I can test out on people and systems later. Super educational. If you want to come along you need to a) get to Singapore and b) stump up a bit of cash for a ticket, but just in case you geek out on this stuff – here’s a link  

You’ll also, possibly get to see me too. But you’ll need to work out who I am, and how I’m dressed first. Pro tip – that’s not me on the left. Your second tip is I like hoodies but – and this is a big but, I also double bluff and hoodies are popular at hacker conventions. So your pro tips there might not be too helpful.

Anyway, I thought I should tell you a bit about why I hack.  Because everyone usually assumes it’s for nefarious purposes. And while many people do uh, use their powers for evil, not everyone does. And it’s possible, in hacking, for leopards to change their spots and become good guys. That basically describes my first teacher.

Hackers are generally portrayed as either type A) a massively overweight guy in his mothers basement who has the social skills of a rodent or; B) a tall, rake-thin evil villain, usually British, probably a smoker and somewhat of a B-character.

The truth is often somewhere in the middle. While both extremes exist (most evil villain hackers I’ve met have been American though), most people are no more or less in shape than your average banker.

Anyway, as to why I hack? Because knowledge is good, access to information is a right and it’s just plain fun. Stay tuned for real-world exploits that are…. uh, hypothetical… of course. 😉