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The Hacker Profiling Project 122

Posted by Zonk from the they-know-who-you-be-lads dept.
NewsForge writes "NewsForge is running a story about a project aiming to profile hackers like the police do with common criminals. Not based out of the U.S. per se, this project falls under the auspices of the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI). The project was co-founded by Stefania Ducci, in 2004, along with Raoul Chiesa." From the article: "NewsForge: What would the project concretely produce as final output? Stefania Ducci: The final goal is a real and complete methodology for hacker profiling, released under GNU/FDL. This means that, at the end of our research project, if a company will send us its (as detailed as possible) logs related to an intrusion, we — exactly like in the TV show C.S.I. when evidence is found on the crime scene — will be able to provide a profile of the attacker. By 'profile' we mean, for example, his technical skills, his probable geographic location, an analysis of his modus operandi, and of a lot of other, small and big, traces left on the crime scene. This will also permit us to observe and, wherever possible, preview new attack trends, show rapid and drastic behavior changes, and, finally, provide a real picture of the world of hacking and its international scene."
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The Hacker Profiling Project More

The Hacker Profiling Project

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  • What have they done to our language (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Silver Sloth ( 770927 ) on Tuesday November 07, 2006 @01:17PM (#16754317)
    From Wikipedia [wikipedia.org]
    In computer programming, a hacker is a software designer and programmer who builds elegant, beautiful programs and systems.
    Well, that's what it used to mean. Someone who was close to the metal, not some jumped up script kiddie with no morals. now even Newsforge is using it in its pejorative form. Personally I think they mean crackers.

    • Re:What have they done to our language (Score:4, Funny)

      by wired_LAIN ( 974675 ) on Tuesday November 07, 2006 @01:22PM (#16754389)
      If the title of a news article was "UN institutes Cracker profiling" the non-slashdot crowd would interpret it as "UN is racist against white people"
      • If the title of a news article was "UN institutes Cracker profiling" the non-slashdot crowd would interpret it as "UN is racist against white people"


        Either that or they are comparing things like Ritz, Club and Saltines.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Lars T. ( 470328 )
        If the title of a news article was "UN institutes Cracker profiling" the non-slashdot crowd would interpret it as "UN is racist against white people"
        Don't most Americans do that anyway?

        But Brits might think they hired Fitz.

    • How dare you use that slur against white people :)

    • Don't like change? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Vellmont ( 569020 ) on Tuesday November 07, 2006 @01:32PM (#16754509) Homepage
      Word meanings change, and can have multiple meanings. Sorry if you've some personal attatchment to those 6 letters arranged in a certain, but the fight was over long ago. Find a new word for what you're talking about, because hacker now means someone who breaks into computers. You can't fight what 99% of the population accepts as the definition, no matter what some wikipedia entry says.

      • Re:Don't like change? (Score:4, Insightful)

        by Silver Sloth ( 770927 ) on Tuesday November 07, 2006 @01:43PM (#16754667)
        I totally agree that the war is lost, but it's a sad day when a title I used to aspire to becomes a pejorative term on Newsforge
      • But that begs the question, should we really take this lying down?

        I'm sorry, couldn't resist.
      • "You can't fight what 99% of the population accepts as the definition"

        You mean Wikiality? :-D

      • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

        by a.d.trick ( 894813 )
        I wouldn't say that hacker no longer refers to a wizardly computer programmer, ever. As you said works can have multiple meanings, and in certain contexts, it's perfectly acceptable to use the word like that. At the moment, there's a problem because there's not really a good word to replace hacker (in the programmer sense) that retains all the connotations. Also, in other context, it has completly different meaning (as in 'css hack'), It may be that hacker is becoming a single morpheme word. All in all, it'
      • here are some more: color (colour), milliard (billion), dick (richard).

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by NoGUI ( 1024183 )
        Incorrect. Both deffinitions are as accurate today as they ever were since both are still part of accepted use. There is no 'fight' here, it's just the usage functions in the English language. Find a new language to police, or learn the rules in this one Vellmont. NoGUI - out

        • Incorrect. Both deffinitions are as accurate today as they ever were since both are still part of accepted use.
          I didn't say that the old-school definition of hacker was incorrect, only that 99% of the populace only knows the computer breakin definition.

          There is no 'fight' here, it's just the usage functions in the English language.
          Obviously you're wrong, since there's so many people upset by the computer breakin definition and actively resist it. My point is that it's useless to try to change the definitio
      • The "fight" never ended. Different groups have different meanings for the same word. When the meanings for the same word are contradictory, then there will fracas when the groups meet. What one group decided long ago is irrelevant to the other.

        Here's a novel concept. If you need a word for a new concept, create a new one - either from historical language roots, another modern language, or completely out of your own imagination. To completely change the meaning of an already existing word is weak & simpl

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by mordors9 ( 665662 )
      Even accepting that you are correct that they are talking about crackers, I have the feeling that most of the script kiddies will not make the list. I assume they are talking about the real deal type guys that make their own cracks and then the other guys try to imitate them. Many of whom may even fall under our common definition of hacker. Those people that will discover a neat hack and then inform the other party of the problem. If not, if it is the script kiddies, it will be a very long and meaningless l
      • They're not talking about making a list of hackers, they're talking about profiling.

        So for instance they will look at the level of technical knowledge needed to do what was done, which could help them determine whether they're looking for a script-kiddie or a guru.

        They could look at how quickly the attacker was able to locate their target, which on a reasonably sized network may tell them whether it was an inside-job, a skilled attacker, or a script-kiddie who struck it lucky.

        They could look for signs of au
    • "some jumped up script kiddie with no morals"

      Add "who hasn't had a date in years, living in his parents basement." to that and I think we will have our profile.

    • Well, that's what it used to mean. Someone who was close to the metal, not some jumped up script kiddie with no morals. now even Newsforge is using it in its pejorative form. Personally I think they mean crackers.

      The usage that takes hold in the larger world is what matters.

      This is precisely why arguing that "copyright infringement is not theft" is so futile. The idea is too deeply entrenched in the language to be uprooted now.

    • Why can't there be illegal hackers? Just like there are good and bad people in every occupation.

      I've met people who do seemingly illegal things, but use brilliant self made solutions.
      • Back when the term was coined there came along with it 'hacker ethics' and a massive discussion about what was, and was not, ethical. This is all in the Wikipedia article I referenced. Once the non techie media got hold of it it was twisted to mean only those who use computers for wrongdoing.

        When the tabloid press misuse the word then, OK, I'll live with it but when Newsforge misuses it, or should I say uses it with its now accepted tabloid meaning, I feel a twinge of regret for the passing of an age.

    • Yes,it is sad that Newsforge got this wrong. If is right that slashdot, which is always correct, should point this out to them.

      Language unfortunately gets screwed up and typically ends up going with the mass usage. Colour becomes color. Milliard (10^9) becomes billion...

    • I'm tired of the supercilious attitude surrounding the use of the word "hacker". I think most of you are smart enough to derive which definition of "hacker" to apply within a given context. The fact of the matter is that the skill sets of "white hat" and "black hat" are essentially the same, and this is why the word is thrown about without consideration for the feelings of the innocuous, well-intended hacker. We all may as well face the fact that the word is well-ingrained in popular culture to mean somethi
    • Crackers crack programs, registration/functionality restrictions etc. Hackers in the mainstream terminology is the correct word to use. We all know real hackers, are tinkers and inquisitive people, who like exploring the bounds of what is commonly accepted usage of data/equipment.
    • Sod the word "hacker", I want to know why "itsatrap" can seemingly refer to every single subject on Slashdot.
    • From Wikipedia : In computer programming, a hacker is a software designer and programmer who builds elegant, beautiful programs and systems.

      It's possible that changing of the meaning of the word form positive to pejorative is the sign of how society see software developers. It's similar how in modern russian old word for "Jew" become offensive word, and it's modern form also sometimes used as offence (less so after the fall of communism)

  • Like CSI? (Score:5, Funny)

    by ajlitt ( 19055 ) on Tuesday November 07, 2006 @01:17PM (#16754321)
    "exactly like in the TV show C.S.I. when evidence is found on the crime scene"
    You mean they stand around in a dark room and spout techno-BS while a computer graphically and textually points out the obvious?

    • Re: (Score:2, Funny)

      by andphi ( 899406 )
      To quote Gil Grissom: "There are too many forensics shows."

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Otter ( 3800 )
      I was going to say the opposite -- don't they understand that in real life, you can't actually drop a fingernail cutting into a mass spec and have it instantly pop up a chemical structure and a list of suspects? Maybe, as you say, the key is leaving the lights off all the time.

      • don't they understand that in real life, you can't actually drop a fingernail cutting into a mass spec and have it instantly pop up a chemical structure and a list of suspects?

        Oh yes, you can. Here's the source code of that program's main function:

        #include <iostream>
        #include "chemistry.h"
        #include "suspects.h"

        int main()
        {
        char dummy;
        std::cout << "Please drop fingernail cutting into mass spec, then press enter.\n";
        std::cin >> dummy;
        pop_up_chemical_struc

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Lumpy ( 12016 )
      Nooo!

      they mean they will take pictures of it from wierd angles and with wild lighting to make it look far more dramatic than it really is.

      you will also get things blurted out like.....

      "The log here has a Gentoo Fingerprint, I think we are dealing with a Computer mastermind!"
    • A couple of episodes into CSI (I started at some random point) there was an episode where Grissom explained in a smartass way that the rubber on a car's wheels protects the people in the car from lightning. Sure thing, except that the real explanation is that the car is made of metal and it acts as a Faraday cage, that's why you don't fry in a car if hit by lightning.

      Funny, entertaining, I have the best appetite while watching CSI and I regularly enjoy supper watching CSI, but its not scientific. I hope m

      • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

        by Otto ( 17870 )
        Sure thing, except that the real explanation is that the car is made of metal and it acts as a Faraday cage, that's why you don't fry in a car if hit by lightning.

        Actually, that's not correct either.

        The real explanation is that a car is a big wide chunk of metal and that metal provides a better path to ground than the path which happens to go through your soft fleshy tissues.

        For it to be a Faraday cage, it would have to be sealed or having only small holes (with their size depending on the frequency of the
        • From Wikipedia [wikipedia.org]: Contrary to popular notion, there is no 'safe' location outdoors. People have been struck in sheds and makeshift shelters. A better location would be inside a vehicle (a crude type of Faraday cage). It is advisable to keep oneself away from any attached metallic components once inside (keys in ignition, etc.).

          Also, as the anonymus coward poster described, you've just described the same underlying mechanism.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by Otto ( 17870 )
            Citing Wikipedia? You can do better. How about an actual scientific paper instead of something made by users who likely are just as wrong as the original poster?

            Suffice it to say that Wikipedia is wrong, yet again. Any decent physics class would tell you so.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by kfg ( 145172 )
      I saw CSI for the first time about a week ago. Frankly I was first annoyed and then appalled. It wasn't until I saw the closing credits that I fully understood why. I won't name names, but his initials are "J.B."

      If they are going to procede as CSI we are all doomed. I mean who wants to go around for the rest of their lives looking at the world through orange tinted glasses?

      Although I admit that the clean, shiny luxury accommodation holding cells would be a nice upgrade on reality.

      KFG

    • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

      by John Hurliman ( 152784 )
      The goal of the project is to be as cool as a TV drama series? More proof that life imitates art.

  • OH NO (Score:1, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Too bad I bought the Rootkits book from Amazon, I know I should have gotten it at the bookstore and should have paid cash.

    • Mod up (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Gabesword ( 964485 )
      This has been modded as funny but it really needs to be modded insightful. Governments the world over are trying very hard to get data such as the Amazon purchase data and store that in a useful database. Buying a book about rootkits very well may put you on a list of, oh, let's call them hackers who need to be kept track of. This, "hacker", book purchase can be cross referenced with the hacker's employment records, possibly including training received. It is all too possible that your phone or data lin

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by jotok ( 728554 )
        Governments the world over are trying very hard to get data such as the Amazon purchase data and store that in a useful database.

        I'm sorry, but can you cite a source where such an attempt to acquire the data has been made? Or are you just betting on the general tendency of governments to try to encroach more and more upon our privacy? I ask because healthy paranoia is one thing, but I think you might be going overboard.
        • Most of the script-kiddie hacking that businesses worry about could easily be perpetrated by the average IT professional. A good sysadmin or software engineer, if unethical, is a lot more dangerous than your average (ugh, I hate to use this term) 'hacker'. Sheesh, I'd be worried about more worried about the guy who reads Stevens books on Unix and TCP/IP than someone reading a book on rootkits.

          Incidentally, I'm a little ashamed to admit this, but I once picked up a book on rootkits for Windows because the

  • Tools are the same for everyone (Score:3, Funny)

    by hey ( 83763 ) on Tuesday November 07, 2006 @01:18PM (#16754341) Journal
    Oh that hacker is using Rootkit 123 so it must be somebody on the Internet!

  • Lemme guess (Score:4, Funny)

    by $RANDOMLUSER ( 804576 ) on Tuesday November 07, 2006 @01:22PM (#16754387)
    White kid? Bad complexion? Limited social skills? Above average intelligence? Lives in parents basement?

    "Round up the usual suspects"

  • UN (Score:2, Funny)

    by jimbolauski ( 882977 )
    So if one does get cought by the UN will they just sanction them and them place them on double secret probabtion.
    • Which they can feel free to ignore, as long as they shout "I'm ignoring the sanctions!"

      At least til my bosses, bosses, [...], boss declairs war on them. ;-)
      -nB
    • And if they do something heroic, do they get a parade thrown in their honor?

  • One question (Score:5, Funny)

    by squidfood ( 149212 ) on Tuesday November 07, 2006 @01:23PM (#16754405)

    Will the rankings be computerized?
  • UN: the hacker seems to have left an unintelligible string of words in your system. We're not sure what it means. "All your base are belong to us... bitch"
  • I hope not, cos that would mean that they would look for the hacker in a "furry" community only to find out that the actual vigilante was a farmer who acted in good faith trying to protect his sheep. Ehhh...

  • Something interesting that might be related to it (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Ernesto Alvarez ( 750678 ) on Tuesday November 07, 2006 @01:29PM (#16754493) Homepage Journal
    Reminds me of a project the Argentinian military presented about a year ago in a security congress I went to.

    The idea was to "fingerprint" hacking attempts by measuring timing in typing on terminals. Say, a hacker would attack a system, a fingerprint would be taken (of the unknown hacker's typing habits) and then on another break-in, a new fingerprint would be taken and compared to previous ones to determine if it is a formely filed hacker.

    Another possibility from that idea was to use the fingerprint also to verify the user's identity (you have to enter a password, but the server also fingerprints you and denies access if the fingerprint does not match).

    Definitely one of the best expositions in the congress. Pity I cannot find any papers. I found the original presentation, in spanish though, by searching for "Remote identification of keystroke patterns" on google.
    • I think if this were actually implemented on a widespread basis, sophisticated hackers using some form of remote access would be able to come up with some sort of remote client that randomizes or otherwise alters (uniformizes) the delays between sent keystrokes. As for physical access, now... well, once you have someone with physical access, you're doomed anyway. . .
    • The idea was to "fingerprint" hacking attempts by measuring timing in typing on terminals. Say, a hacker would attack a system, a fingerprint would be taken (of the unknown hacker's typing habits) and then on another break-in, a new fingerprint would be taken and compared to previous ones to determine if it is a formely filed hacker.

      Extending the above, it's better to use the fingerprinting as the basis of prosecuting an alleged hacker, by testing the null hypothesis, which is: a particular hacker is the
    • Something similar was done in World War II. Telegraph operators tend to develop individual styles in how they operate the key. This style is called a "fist." Radio intercept operators listened to enough Morse code traffic that they could readily identify the sender of a message by the fist of whoever was sending it. A lot could be learned about a message by knowing who sent it: Operator A only sends messages to the sixth fleet, Operator B seems to be an officer because when a message is critical he alw

  • I can see their profile of me already... (Score:4, Funny)

    by jtorkbob ( 885054 ) on Tuesday November 07, 2006 @01:29PM (#16754495) Homepage
    Subject: One Perl Hacker; four-space indentation; 12% comments; averaging 34 lines per sub; prefers OO interface when available; abhores cuddly elses.

    Cm'on now, can't we even get our terminology straight? [wikipedia.org].
  • Hmm...I see by the look of this log showing the Denial of Service attack on Megacorp's Web server, the suspect is:

    40 year old white male
    lacks typical social skills
    unmarried, no girlfriend
    drinks highly caffinated beverages
    has a scraggly, unkempt beard
    does not shower
    lives in his parent's basement...(for free)

    That narrows the list of a bajillion suspects down to...hmm...maybe this profiling thing doesn't work as well as it does on tv? Screw it, bring 'em all in!
    • That narrows the list of a bajillion suspects down to...hmm.

      ---a much smaller number than the Geek may want to think about.

  • Great idea.. (Score:3, Funny)

    by Frumious Wombat ( 845680 ) on Tuesday November 07, 2006 @01:30PM (#16754503)
    That way when someone joins a project, you can look up his profile and read, "thinks that orange on neon green is an acceptable combination for user interfaces", and know to only let him work on the back-end of a project.

    Frankly, some of those interfaces out there in FS/OS land are at least a misdemeanor. This project is long overdue.

  • Comment removed (Score:5, Funny)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Tuesday November 07, 2006 @01:32PM (#16754511)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion
    • You can get geographic information from IP addresses, so it isn't entirely unreasonable.

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by v3xt0r ( 799856 )
        As a hacker, you can just as easily spoof IP addresses using an insecure HTTP Proxy from another Country, or control a botnet of remote compromised machines, so it isn't entirely logical, unless you can get the logs of those machines and trace back to the actual source of the attack, which could be layers upon layers of proxies, in some cases.

        • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

          by Jimmy King ( 828214 )
          I assume they mean determining the region (and I would still consider this just as untrustworthy as using the IP) by figuring in things such as the types of attacks used, apparent knowledge, what they were attacking, what information they took/used/ignored, etc as compared to trends of the same measures from different areas of the world.
    • IP addresses can be spoofed, but you can get a vague idea about time zone if the attacks are manual instead of being automated. If you get an old-school intruder who leaves taunts behind, you can make guesses from the style and grammar: my wife used to be able to pinpoint a student's native language based on how they wrote English.
  • Most of em have NiN, Tool or Warhammer t-shirts on. Just have a S.W.A.T team take out the mall food courts and we can get em all.
  • Why don't they just watch swordfish? What hacker hasn't been asked to crack a govt database with 8192 bit encryption at gunpoint while getting a blow job by a hot chick in the back of a club.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by db32 ( 862117 )
      Are you trying to say that isn't real?! I mean Kevin Mitnik was able to launch nuclear missiles by whistling into phones.
  • Dear Stefania, I have followed with enthusiasm the course of your disgrace and public shaming. My own never bothered me except for the inconvenience of being incarcerated, but you may lack perspective. In our discussions down in the chatroom it was apparent to me that your father, the dead night watchman, figures largely in your value system. I think your success in putting an end to Jame Gumb's career as a couturier pleased you most because you could imagine your father being pleased. But now, alas, you're
  • I'm sure people who are experts at network penetration and social engineering are smart enough to
    A. Not respond
    B. Lie
    C. Use these results to their advantage

    Don't worry about that intrusion on the development server - the profile suggests it was only a script-kiddie looking for mp3s

    What is next? A questionnaire if the Mafia prefers 9mm or .357s?

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Joebert ( 946227 )
      D. Find the boses ex-girlfriend before she calms down.
    • By the way, Slashdot, have I ever mentioned before that in real life I'm a 50-year-old blonde Chinese woman from Decatur, Illinois named Suzanne who loves "American Idol" and professional sports, and whose favorite food is eggplant?
  • just like CSI you say?
    interesting
    will it feature lots of weird camera angles, like from the floppy disks point of view?
    how about from the keyboard point of view, looking straight up the nose of the hacker
  • "The final goal is a real and complete methodology for hacker profiling, released under GNU/FDL. This means that" ... anybody who seriously wants to crack into somewhere will look up the profile of somebody on the other side of the world and follow the text book examples. Nice.
  • Looks like lots of self rating on the site. With out a better test (more thorough, less transparent) and/or follow up interview, even if the person is honest I find it to be of questionable validity.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by jotok ( 728554 )
      Eh, if included as part of a larger body of work it could be perfectly valid. Generally speaking this would be data from a "top-down" approach, which you would follow up with a "bottom-up" study (e.g. observe closely what hackers do and say on IRC, for example). Also, nobody really has any hard numbers for "how valid" this kind of study is, so you could also consider it assumption-testing (including assumptions like "this is of questionable validity")...at some point you have to test even the obvious assu
  • I wonder how they would profile that middle school hacker who was suspended for three days (The 8th grader in question used the "net send" command to send a single word message ("Hey!") to the 80 machines tied to his school's network. [slashdot.org])

    For logs, I suppose a teacher would have sent in a screen capture of the messenger window?
  • I remember this being tried in 1999 with the 'pr0filer' project they revealed at Defcon 7. I remember lots of boos, people filling up their database with garbage, and it eventually sinking into nothingness.
  • On the one hand they state:

    If a company will send us its logs related to an intrusion, we will be able to provide a profile of the attacker.

    On the other hand they state:

    The purpose of this study is trying to describe objectively hackers' everyday life, providing the people that have a poor knowledge of the hacking scene and the digital underground with a clear vision, uninfluenced by mass media or personal prejudices, putting an end to all the stereotypes surrounding this world.

    I might suggest that the

    • What is the difference between a "cyber warrior" and a "military hacker?"

      My guess is "Tron" and "some IT guy in the government." Maybe Tron's user.
  • If they're smart, they'll somehow fork a honeypot off of this, since advertising such a project seems to be equivalent to putting a big digital bullseye on their foreheads.
  • Generally speaking, it comes out that hackers are usually brilliant, inventive, and determined. They generally feel anger and rebellion towards authorities and narrowmindedness, seen as a menace for civil liberties. Hacking is conceived as a technique and a way of life with curiosity and to put themselves through the hoops, or as a power tool useful for raising awareness among the general public about political and social issues. Normally, they are driven by the love for knowledge. Nevertheless, there are a

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by jotok ( 728554 )
      Their methodology could possibly be flawed, but are you qualified to certify someone else's experimental results? Even very obvious assumptions are technically useless unless you test them at some point. Meaning, you say "Duh," but these assumptions are not really something anyone has put to the test, are they? The fact that they have given support to something we already "know" is not a valid grounds for critique, so I must assume you are criticizing their actual experimental methodology. But I can't i
      • The fact that they have given support to something we already "know" is not a valid grounds for critique, so I must assume you are criticizing their actual experimental methodology.

        I'm criticizing both. I see your point re: first-stage methodology, but it sounds like they're handing out surveys to people who fit a preestablished profile through self-selection, which fails Psych Stat 101 as far as the validity of their results. Beyond that I cannot say, since their website is long on appeals for credib

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by jotok ( 728554 )
          I see your point regarding self-selection criteria but I'm not sure that invalidates the results (it does limit the hypotheses you can test severely, I admit). Surely anything is worth testing so long as it's never been formally tested, if only because the exact nature of a given relationship can always been characterized more precisely. Example: It's pretty obvious that some people hack for money (extortion schemes and whatnot)--we see them in the news all the time. You can assume from the observed beha
          • Surely anything is worth testing so long as it's never been formally tested, if only because the exact nature of a given relationship can always been characterized more precisely.

            What you say is technically true, but not necessarily economically viable. Also, I think you are assuming that these guys are doing new and unique work. They are not.

            Likewise, I think it's a good idea to test all of this because yes, "Duh," people can make money hacking and it's been happening a lot more lately. How much m
  • The only people willing to fill out the questionnaire are stupid enough to fill out the questionnaire!
  • " NF: Why should hackers collaborate with you?

    SD: Because the purpose of this study is trying to describe objectively hackers' everyday life, providing the people that have a poor knowledge of the hacking scene and the digital underground with a clear vision, uninfluenced by mass media or personal prejudices, putting an end to all the stereotypes surrounding this world. "

    BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! *wipes tears from eyes*
  • [...]released under GNU/FDL[...]

    Finally GNU is used by "Teh Evil[tm]". I mean, come on, this is ridiculous.
  • We already have a profile for at least one hacker [wikipedia.org].
  • Why profile hackers [catb.org]?

    They should be worried about people that break into computers. Such people are "wannabes", not hackers. They may have some of the skills that would be suited to becoming a hacker, but they don't have the true hacker mentality, which is about building things, not breaking them. As ESR states, "being able to break security doesn't make you a hacker any more than being able to hotwire cars makes you an automotive engineer."

  • This reminds me of somethat that I've been thinking of for a while. By tracking various publicly available information, it should be possible to profile the current politician crop as to how corrupt they really are. For example, if a politician has attended the same parties that Abramoff attended or even was even in the same cities at the same time more than probability allows, then that would count towards that politician's corruption index. Say if that politician used the same lawyers that mob connecte

  • sounds alot like d0xmaster :)

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