Misha Glenny: Hire the hackers!

http://www.ted.com Despite multibillion-dollar investments in cybersecurity, one of its root problems has been largely ignored: who are the people who write malicious code? Underworld investigator Misha Glenny profiles several convicted coders from around the world and reaches a startling conclusion.

TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes. Featured speakers have included Al Gore on climate change, Philippe Starck on design, Jill Bolte Taylor on observing her own stroke, Nicholas Negroponte on One Laptop per Child, Jane Goodall on chimpanzees, Bill Gates on malaria and mosquitoes, Pattie Maes on the "Sixth Sense" wearable tech, and "Lost" producer JJ Abrams on the allure of mystery. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design, and TEDTalks cover these topics as well as science, business, development and the arts. Closed captions and translated subtitles in a variety of languages are now available on TED.com, at http://www.ted.com/translate.

• Category

  Science & Technology

[weyzer01]

security companies have been hiring hackers for a long time, no?

[ElijahsSoup]

IS THAT GUYS NAME ACTUALLY "MAX VISION?" THATS FUCKING AWESOME!

[Robert Steele]

Duh. I said this in 1994 at Hackers on Planet Earth, and also in an interview for PBS. TED is really losing standing in my eyes, between its cult baloney and its being 20 years too late on everything.

[Prashant K V]

He didn't really need an alias :D

[Liteboyiam]

Those who secretly attack those who are overtly attacking us all ARE NOT CRIMINALS. THEY'RE HEROES.

[Liteboyiam]

i'm guessing that the reason you don't hear about big hackers getting caught is that when they are no one involved wants it publicized because they're integrated into the system and very valuable "assets".

[Valtteri Harju]

As a security adviser/researcher I feel this is an insult to me. :| How could someone generalizes this so deeply without looking at the whole picture?

[alexicon89]

They didn't do the original PSN hack.

The one where shit was stolen wasn't anonymous and if it was it was an offshoot not representing the whole.

[DSBrekus]

A war monger who has started no wars in 4 years? He's obviously not a very effective one then. Also, if you didn't catch it they said he was assassinated, not just "leaving". If you would celebrate someone being killed merely because you have some political differences then I pity the miserable wretch you must be. Then again you may simply be a troll, though if you think that makes you any better you'd be wrong in my opinion.

[DSBrekus]

Agreed

[Yaarrr]

13:07. I get the feeling that the internet was the only thing he was penetrating.