Should The Government Hire Hackers Essay

Submitted By lolunlock
Words: 601
Pages: 3

Should The Government Hire Hackers (more) ? Linus Torvalds says in his Prologue that, for the hacker, "the computer itself is entertainment, "meaning that the hacker programs because he finds programming intrinsically interesting, exciting, and joyous (The Hacker Ethic and the Spirit of the Information Age by PEKKA HIMANEN)” Many private companies have been hiring hackers not to be confused by crackers (Someone who enjoys hacking for malicious purposes) who are bad. As a matter of fact many states and including ours have created competitions to fine talented hackers and hire them into the government. In 2011 U.S federal agents attended a convention known as defcon. According to an article written by Gerry Smith, “as cyber-attacks continue to increase in both number and scale, the government has launched a massive recruiting effort to hire computer-savvy employees who can help defend the nation in cyberspace.’ All of this comes down to should the government hire hackers? Yes and no for many reasons some of these being, they can protect against other hackers, less people would be hacking for the wrong reasons, and they can unveil cyber security issues in the U.S government. In the same light one of the many reasons why many governments hire hackers is because many find it a waste of “talent” if there not hired by the government. An example of this is china, according to fox news “”The New York Times cites cyber security experts in reporting Shanghai-based hackers have targeted at least 20 foreign defense contractors over the past two years in an apparent attempt to obtain technology “behind the United States’ clear lead in military drones.””. As cyber-attack keep increasing the only measurement is left is to hire hackers. According to an article written by N. R. KLEINFIELD and SOMINI SENGUPTA and published by the New York Times “On the Internet he was Sabu, a notorious celebrity who led a scattered tribe of politically motivated “hacktivists,” revered as the sly mastermind of brash computer attacks. Then, when he was caught, he slipped into the role of federal informant.” Once a cyber-criminal and now a federal informant, “As an informant, he helped bring down a batch of prominent fellow hackers in Europe and the United States. They were indicted on a charge of computer crimes that the authorities said affected one million victims, along with major