This attitude seems stupid. I agree with the overall principle of not encouraging cracking, vxers, etc but to write them off completely seems counter-productive. If anyone thinks a jail-term (and record) is a fair swap for being 'fast-tracked' into a job then they're sufficiently stupid a) for it not to happen and b) to do something else equally stupid. Intelligent people can do stupid things for stupid reasons (naivete being on of them). Should we write of the Blankenships and Mitnicks of the world for committing one crime? Most western criminal systems don't allow previous convictions to be taken into account during trial, the idea being that you've been punished for your crime. If the criminal system is to work at all, it has to act as though jail time as a punishment / deterrent works. Saying that we shouldn't employ criminals seems a waste of a resource, inhuman, and to be implying that our entire criminal system is built on a falacy.

Either Jushu Technology is run by a disciple of the Chinese general & military strategist Sun-tzu (~400 BC) - "Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer" - or they develop malware (perhaps for Sony or the MPAA?)

Or both?

When you are in the business of industrial espionage crackers are handy.

It is widely known that poachers make the best gamekeepers. Just because somebody did something bad doesn't make them intrinsically evil - these people are obviously skilled and talented. To write that off is a sad waste of resources, quite apart from not giving them another chance.

After all, didn't we make it into space on the back of Von Braun et al's V2 rocket work for the Nazis? And now we have satellites and various other technologies.

Since when did business suddenly acquire a conscience. When you start to give a stuff about your customers or work force then I might care about your "wrong signals".

People who have completed their sentence, have completed their sentence. What part of that do you not understand.

And Your Enemies Closer.

"People who have completed their sentence, have completed their sentence. What part of that do you not understand."

It doesn't mean they've changed their ways though. Would you hire a convicted burglar to look after security at your home or place of work? Think he could be trusted?

"Think he could be trusted?"

Or she. It could be a lady. Women are just as filthy as men.

Women are dirty.

Keep Your Friends In A Box, And Your Enemies In Plain Sight.

K

Hells no! Damn. Them crackers turn on ya, brother. They think they so much betta than you, and damn, one day y'all turn aroun' and that cracker took ya cash, ya jewelry... A brotha cain't trust no cracker.

Damn!

I thought it would be Apple

The Golden Rule of Securing Virtual Reality..... Give a man and a woman what they want and you will Control Them Absolutely. IT is no more Complicated than that and the Wiser Ones will provide you themselves with All that is needed for their Care and Control .... Feed Information/insider Knowledge.

That allows for the Shrewd and Astute Gambler/AddVenturer/Entrepreneur to Lead in Any Domain of Play by Proxy ........Through the Endeavours of Communications Drivers relaying Feedback ...... Future Semantic Positions.

I've always found them to be inscrutable myself. Damn inscrutable...

When someone displaying extraordinary talent happens along, having his way with your security like a virgin on prom night, knowing there is no chance for neutral ground, you can either having working for you, or against you...

For those that like to try and stand all tall and proud, way up on some plateau of moral high ground... give it up... there is not a man (or woman) on earth that couldnt stand trial for something...every single person alive has committed an act that has either a moral or legal price tag, most people just dont get caught...

Show me someone who have never committed a questionable or illegal act, and i'll show you a fuckin liar!

In the West when skilled crackers get out of prison they usually form or join security companies. In China the military needs skilled crackers to develop code as part of their espionage again Western industry and governments.

1. this can't be good for the security industry

2. i bet they'll keep one *hell* of an eye on him.

poor fella wont be able to check his hotmail without three dozen 'colleagues' monitoring his every move... "here's your desk, here's your computer, and... oh don't worry about the cameras... and this black box we're strapping to your leg"

remember the end of the film catch me if you can? the guy wound up being an outsider, never to be trusted... cant be much fun...

This is a common practice everywhere, the thought being, if he can write virus software, he can recognize and write the antivirus software. The Classic, it takes a thief to catch a thief. It happens, whether it's right or wrong... who knows. How much of our antivirus software and programming are written by people just like him/her? Probably the bulk of it.

No, they said it was a company who was infected by the worm, not a company impervious to worms and viruses.

<Get's coat, looks for the Fanboi bus.>

On several occasions I've been asked by an employer to - err - 'circumvent' is I suppose the nicest way to say it - protection on software.

I did so legally as the original copyright holder gave permission for such a - err 'modification' to their original

Simply put, a crack can very well be benign as the original source may well be lost so there is no alternate other than to break the product in order to fix it.

Whilst I agree with the consensus it should be pointed out that such skills are not always a bad thing - as long as they are used responsibly, not destructively

""It's important that the IT community does not send out a message that writing viruses or worms is cool, or a fast track into employment," said Graham Cluley"

Personally, I'd rather have someone on my security team that actually knows something practical about security issues than a whining former adventure game writer who gets his jollies getting into flame wars with teenage girls.

And, although it isn't in his specific case (boring twat that he is), it would certainly be hypocrisy for the majority of the self professed "Security Professionals" to make much noise, since all the decent ones started out on the dark side. l0pht, 8lgm and so on come to mind, and most of the rest are just moralising wankers who think running nmap and Nessus is the shiznit.

"I'm a white hat", "I'm a grey hat".

You're an ass hat.

So Cluley thinks being offered a job ready for you after spending four years in a Chinese chokey is fast-tracked employment.

One wonders what he would consider getting a job the hard way would be like.