Wednesday December 30, 2015

I've Been Thinking:

ISIS has created an internet message forum that teaches and trains hackers on ways to invade and attack. The forum is found on a social messaging app called Telegram.
300 people have signed up.

On the site are tutorials and while most of the material can easily be found elsewhere on the net, this is one stop shopping. Many lectures and videos are in a single place making it easier for future cyber terrorists to learn their diabolical trade.

Telegram offers a 27-part video course on evaluating and then penetrating a computer system. It teaches how to find vulnerabilities and weaknesses. It gives tests and practice problems.

The hard reality is that learning these details will not convert the student into a hacker or, at least, not into a good hacker... one who can cause damage to a country or a city or a company.

Missing from this app is the creative energy and the problem solving skills. That is what really makes a great hacker.

ISIS is trying to hack. They succeeded in hacking into US Central Command's twitter feed and posted some tweets in January. But that is hardly a serious hack. Breaking into a twitter account is not like breaking into Central Command itself.

We must worry and we must protect ourselves from cyber attacks. ISIS wants to be a player in the world of cyber crime and they have some capable hackers. But in the meantime, the real threats come from China and from Russia and from the anarchists.

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