ABOUT COMPANY CERTIFICATES PARTNERS HELPFUL INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES PRESENTATIONS "SAKHINFO" was founded as a small business on October 25, 1990 and operates in the Sakhalin region. _1_ _2_ _3_ _4_ _5_ _6_ _7_ _8_ Computer crackers or "hackers" today Hackers are increasingly mentioned in the news, Russia and the US accuse each other of organizing cyberattacks. Lenta.ru contacted a well-known hacker under the nickname Ares, who communicated with Edward Snowden and developed the popular program for intercepting traffic Intercepter-NG. He spoke about the everyday life of computer hackers and explained why he does not believe in the involvement of Russian hackers in attacks on American resources. About his attitude to the term "hacker" Let me emphasize right away: for me personally, the activity of hackers is far from always associated with hacking. Moreover, if we delve deeper into the very history of the term, it is obvious that earlier this name was not at all cybercriminals, but experienced programmers. (The verb to hack was indeed borrowed from the hippie lexicon and initially did not have a negative connotation. Its approximate Russian translation is "to cut" or "fumble in something" - approx. "Lenta.ru" .) These specialists could think outside the box and apply all sorts of tricks in working with information systems and computers. So I can only be called a hacker from this point of view. It is clear that these days this term has a very specific and often negative meaning. It is not too pleasant for me when they call me a hacker in the media, because many people immediately have an image of such a network bully and pest in their heads. But believe me, I'm not like that at all. Of course, like any information security professional, I know theoretically how to hack. Many years ago I strictly for educational purposes Reversi (restoring algorithm to generate a serial number to simulate the recording of the program - . Comment "Lenta.ru" ) codes and pure interest cracked a couple of sites. But I never returned to this, ordinary hacks are not interesting to me. So, in fact, I'm not a hacker at all, but rather a developer. About communicating with other hackers Many of my acquaintances have partially or completely left the IT sphere. Some are still in ICQ, previously they actively corresponded via IRC (Internet Relay Chat, a protocol for messaging - approx. "Lenta.ru" ). Although today people "in the subject" still communicate through the good old Jabber with crypto plugins. In addition, modern IT people are very fond of Telegram, but personally I perceive it as an ordinary messenger, and not a secure communication channel. I know there are a lot of rumors circulating about secret meetings of hackers and their violent parties. In fact, we rarely see each other, because many have left the world and have not contacted for a long time. And I haven't been to hacker parties for ten years. And to be honest, they are not much different from ordinary binges. All the guests were already constantly in touch with each other - having met in real life, they just wanted to relax and hang out. About hacker habits They also talk a lot about this and, in general, the truth. For example, I tape a webcam on my laptop and disable it as a device in the system settings. I still don't use Skype and other similar applications on devices with a GSM module. In general, people who care about their safety strictly adhere to the rule: "one SIM card - one device." In special cases, a phone with a "left" SIM card is destroyed or thrown away immediately after going online. But this is from the experience of completely different comrades. Another hacker myth is also true: many of us still use old push-button telephones, which do not have "these Internet of yours." About the hacker lifestyle We must clearly understand: hackers are the same people as, say, plumbers, teachers, or shop assistants. Their interests and leisure time are almost indistinguishable from ordinary people. Yes, they often work in the IT field, and it is quite logical that the Internet is their main professional tool. © Courtesy: Lenta.ru However, you probably more interested in the so-called Black Hats ( «black» hackers using the vulnerability in their own interests - a comment "Lenta.ru." ). So, their most notable feature is a very chaotic daily routine. They make a living by hacking and don't go to work like normal people do. So they can sleep during the day and sit at the computer at night. About the ideology of hackers Modern hackers do not have a single ideology, and I would not say that they follow the postulates of cypherpunk or cryptanarchism. Their views are largely individual. In the mid-2000s, there was a confrontation between the ideologies Anti-Sec and Full Disclosure. In both cases, we are talking about searching for vulnerabilities. Representatives of the first group believe that the found bug should be used in a narrow circle and not notify the software development company about it. Supporters of Full Disclosure, on the contrary, believe that information about the vulnerability found should be made available to the general public as soon as possible. From the outside, it seems that the idea of Full Disclosure is more correct, but this is not entirely true. As a rule, information about vulnerabilities is posted on the network without prior notice to the developer, therefore, before it is eliminated and the patch reaches end users, cybercriminals will have time to take advantage of it. Otherwise, everything is like everyone else's - people get lost in circles according to their interests and technical areas. And cryptanarchism and cypherpunk are purely personal preferences. Of course, most hackers use encryption systems, but they don't make a cult out of it. You know, it's like loving rock or punk, but not being part of the punk movement. On the attitude of hackers to politics Like most of the inhabitants of cyberspace, hackers are not alien to couch analytics and debates about world politics. The only difference is that it is much easier for people with good skills to search for information on the Internet to form an objective picture for themselves on all issues of interest to them. If we talk about the situation in Syria or in eastern Ukraine, then war is always bad, and the attitude towards it can only be negative. As far as information war is concerned, you are either participating in it or keeping aloof. In an information war, you cannot wear camouflage and throw a gun over your shoulder. But one thing I can say for sure: you cannot become a cyber troop soldier without technical training. There are many technologies in the world where errors and loopholes can be found: corporate information systems, Web plugins and scripts, drivers, network equipment ... But you cannot be a professional in everything at once, you need to specialize in something specific. And a professional in each of these areas will certainly find application for his knowledge. On Anonymous's war against the Islamic State There is a lot of talk about Anonymous's war against IS (banned in Russia - Lenta.ru note ). But I think there are dozens of different groups and lone hackers hiding under the name Anonymous. Anonymous has become a kind of brand, and any minor hack on their behalf immediately gets widespread publicity. Hacking something on their behalf is a trend. On the confrontation between Russia and the United States in cyberspace Frankly, America behaves like a hysterical woman, and their endless accusations are mostly unfounded and unsubstantiated. But I will make a reservation right away that I have not analyzed major incidents in detail, and indeed I do not follow all sorts of groups. Therefore, I have nothing special to say about the allegedly Russian hackers from APT 28 and FancyBears. About cyber hackers working for the state In a number of countries, there are indeed both formal and informal organizations that employ information security specialists. So government hackers do exist. But I can only guess how such departments work. There are undoubtedly cyber intelligence departments there. Their employees are looking for contact and personal information of officials and civil servants from around the world, as well as critical infrastructure facilities of these states. © Courtesy: Lenta.ru Other specialists may be engaged in the development of any goals, that is, directly hacking and espionage. There should also be our own people to analyze the open and closed markets for the sale of 0day ("zero-day vulnerabilities" - vulnerabilities and malware against which defense mechanisms have not yet been developed -approx. "Lenta.ru" ). Moreover, it is absolutely not necessary that full-time employees are engaged in all this, many services are outsourced to private companies or individuals. There are also developers in such organizations who create the very cyber weapon about which there is so much hype. Recently hacker group Shadow Brokers sold this in an online auction, and Edward Snowden also talked about it. It appears to include firewall exploits and router software bugs. This includes worms, including Stuxnet, which targeted Iran's nuclear program. In general, these are fairly complex products, often with a modular architecture. They can contain entire sets of 0day exploits, and their logic is tied to specific information systems. Об изображении хакеров в массовой культуре In my opinion, today's hacker, "black" or "white", is primarily an emotionally stable person. Not at all an adventurer with burning eyes from the cult movie of the 90s "Hackers", but not at all autistic, as in the popular TV series "Mr. Robot". Yes, in the late 90s I was that same adventurer, and among my acquaintances there were a couple of slightly antisocial and confused eccentrics. Both of these types are found in our time, although not often. Among such introverts there are real masters of their craft, but it is difficult to expect a stable result from them in terms of work. In general, "Mister Robot" is terrible. Hackers are shown as sick and crazy, and the main character is especially disgusted. In reality, a hacker is still a researcher, so he certainly has a particle of that dashing image of the 90s. Material taken from the site Lenta.ru _1_ _2_ _3_ _4_ _5_ _6_ _7_ _8_ Copyright © 2007 - 2015 JSC "SAKHINFO" Address: Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, st. Chekhov 7a, Phone: (4242) 43-43-11, Email: office@sakhinfo.ru All rights reserved. When using materials from the site, a link to ZAO SAKHINFO is required!