1 / 17

The Pros and Cons of Hiring Hackers

The Pros and Cons of Hiring Hackers. Scott Blake Security Program Manager, RAZOR Team, BindView Corporation. Introduction. My Perspective Sociologist Employer of Hackers Experienced in Research, Operations, and Consulting What you’ll get Some sociology, some anecdotes, some technology.

bryce
Download Presentation

The Pros and Cons of Hiring Hackers

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  1. The Pros and Cons of Hiring Hackers Scott Blake Security Program Manager, RAZOR Team, BindView Corporation

  2. Introduction • My Perspective • Sociologist • Employer of Hackers • Experienced in Research, Operations, and Consulting • What you’ll get • Some sociology, some anecdotes, some technology

  3. What’s a Hacker? • An Out-of-the-box thinker • One who bends computers to his/her will • A criminal? • What’s with the hats? • Black, White, Gray • Terminology: • Cracker, Hacker, Script Kid, etc.

  4. Why Would I Want One? • You need experienced security professionals • People who know how to defend networks, systems • Innovation, forward thinking

  5. What are they good for? • Security Work • Consulting, Research • System Administration • Implementation Work

  6. How do I find one? • Depends what you’re looking for • IRC • Mostly kids • Look around here • Mostly professionals • Various consulting houses • @stake, Rent-A-Hacker, etc. • Universities

  7. Hackers are Individuals • Quirks and Trends • Age (Youth is a myth) • Gender (Still largely male) • Race (Mostly white) • Class (Generally affluent) • Setting expectations

  8. Pros • Bright, creative people • Many not motivated by money • Highly motivated to learn • Very productive • In touch with latest trends

  9. Pros in Different Environs • Research • Little supervision • Operations • Snug as a bug in a rug • Consulting • Scare your customers • Impress your customers

  10. Cons • May be hard to focus them on *your* goals • The youngsters require supervision • Some have poor communication skills • Oral, Written, Process • That damn superior attitude

  11. Cons • Tend to see things in black & white • May pursue dead-end directions too long • Politics • They can smell snake oil

  12. Key Concerns • Trustworthiness • More an issue with young ones (they have less to lose) • It is a valid concern

  13. Key Concerns • How do you decide on an individual basis? • Ask around/Reputation/References • Use IRC • Ask directly • Let them know your concern and work on it together • Ultimately, you have to assess the risk

  14. Key Concerns • If there’s a problem, how will you know? • Who watches the watchers? • If they are worth employing, you won’t • Goes back to trust, you’ve got to have it. • You are The Man™

  15. Retention Issues • Hot job market • Big money • Volatile stock market • Free spirits

  16. How to Fire Hackers • Carefully • With decency • Communicate!

  17. Conclusion • Understand your problem • Know what you’re looking for • Communicate!

More Related