What can you learn from a hacker site?

• Tags:
• Viruses,
• Network Security,
• Worms,
• Trojan

Michael Mullins

Published: 20 Jan 2004 11:50 GMT

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Some security managers might cringe at the thought of allowing their administrators to visit a hacker site. But it might not be a bad idea, on occasion. Information is a tool. If you use it right, it doesn't matter where it comes from. Listening to the enemy (i.e., hackers) and checking out their weapons has given me an edge in information warfare.

Here are some pros and cons for visiting hacker sites. Read on and decide if there's any value in strolling around the underground.

Pro: Know your enemy
If you're looking for the latest information on a newly developed hack or attack against one of your publicly available systems, hacker sites are the place to go.

When people do something they're proud of, they want recognition and peer respect. Think about it: who do you tell first when you've solved a complex problem? Do you tell your buddy in the next cube or your manager? People brag, so turn that to your advantage. Go to where hackers brag, and find out if their criminal intent is going to affect your network's security.

Con: Provoking an enemy
Security admins have egos, just like hackers do. However, a hacker's site is not the place to show it off. Leave your ego and your IP address at the anonymous proxy server you use on your way to underground sites. You don't want to create a reason for hackers to target you, or leave a trail for them to follow to your place of business.

Black hats aren't stupid, so remember your mother's advice and don't talk to strangers. If you start chatting with the wrong person, they're going to check you out. They might even decide to test their latest tools on your network. Before visiting a hacker site, you should set up a disposable email account on a public system and use an anonymous proxy server and a locked-down Internet browser.

Pro: Great tools
The black hats have a great assortment of tools -- unfortunately for those of us who've been on the wrong end of them. Go see what hackers have that can scan and break into your systems. Don't wait for your OS vendor to put out a patch and save you; be proactive and figure out a patch on your own. Run hacker tools against an isolated system and discover how to block it.

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