Opinion
Leave the hackers alone
Yakir Elkariv
Published: 08.01.12, 12:15
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29 Talkbacks for this article
1. Israelis are the best ..
Sarah B ,   U.S.A. / Israel   (01.08.12)
When I am always bored, some fun with my laptops but, a 14.5 year-old computer genius, still a kid? I agree with Yakir that for Israelis not be pentereted from time to time, Internet security authority is needed very badly, lots of bored kids are out there.
2. Finally Someone Who Gets It, But...
EGGM ,   Petah Tikva, Israel   (01.08.12)
The author is exactly right about information security. I have worked extensively in the website building and IT fields and know how insecure many Israeli websites are. There is practically zero awareness in Israel about information security, and it's about time that these changed. Basic security and best practices would prevent most script kiddies from breaking into websites. Having said that, there's a big "but" to all of this. Most computer hackers are not "traditional" criminals (like the author says) and don't expect to be caught. If a prominent hacker is caught and this makes it to the media, it will be a huge deterrent to future hackers, and raise the awareness among the population that hacking is a crime, and it will be punished. The notion for most hackers that they might not be allowed to use computers for years after they are released from prison will be enough to prevent them from trying anything funny.
3. Why the distinction?
Marco   (01.08.12)
If a bored kid with no ill intentions goes into his neighbor's house does he not commit a crime? The same goes for computers. This idea that hackers are well meaning bored kids and not real criminals is wrong.
4. Why the assumption?
Liad ,   Jaffa, Israel   (01.08.12)
Why does the author assume that this is some pimple faced teenager rather than a group of hackers intent on attacking Israeli targets? Most hacking of advanced security websites is done by groups of hackers who are working together. The reason to hunt these guys down is that they will likely continue until they're caught.
5. Leave the hackers alone?
Devorah   (01.08.12)
Why does Elkariv think this has to be an either/or situation? Is this some kind of joke? These people are not "ghosts." They are predatory felons who need to be aggressively hunted down, apprehended, tried in a court of law and locked up and fined the equivalent amount of the economic damage they did if found guilty. Can't afford to pay the fine? Tough titties. Sit the the slammer that much longer.
6. another wrong thinking item. of course improve security but
ralph   (01.08.12)
go after them also. vigorously and with full force.
7. EGGM #2
Eaglebeak ,   Left Coast, USA   (01.08.12)
How do you stop someone from using computers when they don't respect the law in the first place? Here in the USA we make lots of silly laws that hamper honest people but do nothing to stop dishonest people who are determined to break laws anyway. Short of breaking fingers ( sort of like in the movie "Support Your Local Gunfighter") I don't see how you can stop these people once they are out of jail.
8. You must be bored # 1
Eaglebeak ,   Left Coast, USA   (01.08.12)
Because you are not Sarah B. Whoever you are, if all computer hackers were like you we would all be safe and there wouldn'g be a problem and no reason for this article.
9. The author is right. These Israeli companies need to step up
Henry from New York ,   USA   (01.08.12)
their security systems. Israelis wouldn't be panicking in the first place if this silly ONE site had invested in some proper security. I think that having the government go after them is a waste of money. Rather, the government should find out who they are for sure and then expose their identity for everyone to see. The internet can be very unforgiving and with luck, the sharks will frenzy. That is how you deal with these guys - destroy their anonymity.
10. #8, most script-kiddies are like that.
Henry from New York ,   USA   (01.08.12)
11. #7, a probation officer usually helps with that.
Henry from New York ,   USA   (01.08.12)
They do it often here.
12. greed guzzles brain
Yael Schlichting ,   Raubling - Germany   (01.08.12)
Almost non of the web servers, in operation today is hardened so far, that it would stand a hacker attack. The issue is, that most time, system administrators don't have time and resources available to scan all their systems for security issues. They also don't have most recent security scanners at hands, nor do they have the training........ All this is a matter of money and IT organizations have been squeezed out to the last drop after 2001. You cannot just call for more security. You must oblige companies to care IT security!
13. Henry # 11
Eaglebeak ,   Left Coast, USA   (01.08.12)
Thank you Henry. While probation officers are probably useful I don't see how they can really be effective. Unless they keep people under house arrest with monitoring to track them, computers are pretty easy to get to.
14. if your home is broken into get a better alarm & don't worry
zionist forever   (01.08.12)
The attitude of this author is just is the same as if you were broken into you called the police and they said leave the criminals alone and you just get yourself a better alarm system so they don't get in again. We need to take action now to stop people trying in future because no matter how good the system there will always be somebody better. The only way we are going to solve this is if we buy the hacker a one way ticket to Israel. Kidnap him, interrogate him and then find him a nice hole in the ground. As long as the job is done properly and we say nothing everybody will suspect Israel but they can't prove it so no diplomatic fallout. The hackers will all of course blame Israel but at the same time they will know if they don't want to be the next ones to vanish they better not mess with Israel. There are no guns but it is a war and doing something like that now would be like having a cyber nuclear deterrent.
15. #7 Eaglebeak
EGGM ,   Petah Tikva, Israel   (01.08.12)
As the author correctly points out, these are mostly bored kids who are not traditional criminals. They are what we in Israel call "good kids", and the only reason they break the law is because for them it's just a game, they don't really understand the implications, and don't expect anyone to seriously go after them, much less catch them. However, after they are caught everything changes. I'm not saying that this applies to all hackers, or even all teenage hackers, but most of them will obey the terms of their probation when the alternative is more prison time. Even if there's no probation, the prison time is a good reminder for them not to do it again. And even if they don't go to prison, having their identity revealed and all their equipment confiscated is a pretty strong deterrent too. This wouldn't be the case if they were a part of a real crime organization and getting real money for their "efforts", but the fact is, the vast majority of them are not.
16. # 8
Birdi ,   Israel   (01.08.12)
You sure got that right Eagle. # 1 is not Sarah B not even close to her. What a pathetically stupid attempt by a tiny minded nutcase with loads of time on her/his hands.
17. EGGM #15
Eaglebeak ,   Left Coast, USA   (01.08.12)
Your right. I was speaking in general terms. I do think it is possible for the younger hackers skill to be put to good use with the proper supervision and direction. For them good can come out of it eventually for everyone if handled correctly.
18. this is a saudi not a bored Mexican 15 year old
zionist forever   (01.08.12)
He is neither 15 or a Mexican. He is a Saudi national and he has even been boasting about what he did and that he was doing it to make trouble for Israel because Israel is part of Palestine and so it belongs to the palestinians. Hardly the words of a bored 15 year old Mexican who has got nothing better to do that hack into Israeli credit cards and steal thousands of numbers. The only way to deal with people like that is a secret interrogation in Israel and then giving him a nice burial. This is a war and we must treat him as an enemy soldier and deal with him like we would if he were an enemy soldier.
19. #9 Henry from New York
Devorah   (01.08.12)
Exposing them may put them out of business for a while, but they tend to return with a new anonymity. Probation officers are useless. The only way to stop them is to incarcerate them.
20. #13, well let's brainstorm. The two obvious methods are net
Henry from New York ,   USA   (01.08.12)
cafes and (in the US) a FedExKinkos with a FedEx card. I guess you are right that in those cases it would be hard to track someone, but I know there are some methods that they use to keep track of such people. My comp sci professor told me about them a while back, but I have since forgotten.
21. #19 - I am referring to their real life identities.
Henry from New York ,   USA   (01.08.12)
Put their real lives up for all to see. Names, addresses, anything that can be found. The internet can be very unforgiving. Let the true Israeli Anon take care of him in real life then. Trust me, they can make his life a living hell. There's an old Anon expression - "None of us are as cruel as all of us". Look up "Dusty the Cat" for an example.
22. Whats in a word?
righthanded ,   Virginia USA   (01.09.12)
What if your entire site was overlayed with a transparent slide show? Would Microsoft still be Microsoft? Would Apple OS still be Apple OS? What if bots, webcrawlers were proggromed to silently change owners? Say using Wickopedia Common Copyright? Use old software like 1998 trial NT, tweek tthe system date to always show 1999 Jan 1, and use it to put the world on trial according to Muslim law? Sounds more like terrorist to me than a teenager with a bad case of rosacia. What if the computer bots were accompanied with nano-optic bots living spy cam? Enterprising thieves.
23. #21 Henry from New York
Devorah   (01.09.12)
I found poor "Dusty the Cat" and understand what you mean when you say, "None of us are as cruel as all of us." Just looking at those photos made me want to knock Kenny Glenn's teeth down his throat. I'm glad he was arrested. I have a better understanding of your position, Henry. Thank you for showing me a world I knew nothing about.
24. Leave hackers alone
Paladin ,   J-M   (01.09.12)
The naive way of presenting cyber theft is almost as bad as saying the "Columbine" high schools boys were just overreacting to pressures... When we have to suspect that every transaction and entry on our computers is not protected in someway ...we are in bad shape. The need for enforcement of hacking has to be just as important as the security protection that also has to be instituted. "Boys will be boys"....tell it to the bereaved parents of the kids who were killed by good boys!
25. #23 - He was more than arrested thanks to Anon (those were
Henry from New York ,   USA   (01.09.12)
the real ones). Trust me when I say the less you know about that world, the better (though some fools deserve to be tossed to the sharks). =p
26. # 20 Henry
Eaglebeak ,   Left Coast, USA   (01.09.12)
You will probably want a younger brain than mine to brainstorm this. You are way ahead of me having had computer science in school. When I went to school they didn't have computers unless you count Cray Supercomputers. The Commodore 64 hadn't come along yet. Libraries are another source for access to computers but as to tracking people that are a problem I just don't know.
27. Thank you Hackers!
Mourad ,   Algeria   (01.09.12)
Hackers do a good job when they breach a system, and that is the system is faulty and useless and needs to be reinforced. Why shouldn't we grateful to those who show us our weaknesses!
28. Threatening 1 criminal will unite 'hackers' against Israel
Joe ,   US   (01.09.12)
That's how the minds of these loser 'hackers' work. I suspect that any public threat made by the Israeli government against one criminal will be perceived as both as an 'injustice' and a challenge by wannabe hackers around the globe. Just look at how other institutions (Scientology, RIAA, MPAA etc) have drawn the wrath of cybercommunities that live vicariously through fellow losers and believe they are vigilantes fighting The Man or Big Brother. Young people that previously didn't even have conscious awareness of Israel or give 2 shekels about the Arabs' goal of destroying Israel will suddenly focus all their attention on cyberattacking the state and its institutions. It would be best for Israel to finally get a competent public relations office that understands how to interact with diverse populations, rather than just preaching to the choir and allowing government ministers to stick their foot in their mouths.
29. Cyber War
Harold McBroom ,   Dallas, US   (06.02.12)
I am in support of Israel defending itself against all enemies, be they fleshly or of digital design. America has created it's own cyber army, and sadly, I question Obama's true intentions towards Israel; Israel should have a contingency plan, none the less. The only reason Obama is supporting Israel, is to stall for time, giving Iran a chance to get off the hook. Obama supports Israel only with his lying mouth, while his heart and true intentions are as black as oil.
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