News for hackers. Stuff that matters.

A comment on Facebook rewarded a 10-year-old for finding Instagram security flaw. Parent comment

Re:Facebook rewarded a 10-year-old for finding Instagram sec... by userbinator on Tuesday May 03, 2016 @11:37PM (#11625996)
I don't think it's that simple of a decision, or one that could be generalised to all cases. What if you found an exploit that let you break a widespread form of DRM, access normally paywalled information, or gain control of a device that you rightfully own but the manufacturer locked down against you? It really depends on your moral/philosophical stance, but all the money in the world wouldn't make me report any of those. That's why the idea of someone so young already thinking of becoming a "security researcher" bugs (no pun intended) me, because they all seem to inevitably end up proponents of "security that oppresses" in some form or another.

Related: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacker_ethic

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Facebook rewarded a 10-year-old for finding Instagram sec... by ashitlerferad on Wednesday May 04, 2016 @01:44AM (#11626470)
A recent manifesto around that:

http://pastebin.com/raw/0SNSvyjJ

"Leaking documents, expropriating money from banks, and working to secure the computers of ordinary people is ethical hacking. However, most people that call themselves "ethical hackers" just work to secure those who pay their high consulting fees, who are often those most deserving to be hacked."

[ Parent | on HN ]