A TV Plea to Patriot Hackers

[InfoSec News <isn () c4i org>]

http://www.wired.com/news/conflict/0,2100,47099,00.html

By Brian McWilliams 
2:00 a.m. Sep. 26, 2001 PDT 

A new TV public service announcement targets U.S. computer hacktivists
with a blunt message: Uncle Sam wants you to help fight the war on
terrorism.

But the spot, which organizers hope to begin airing nationwide next
week on major networks, will warn that misguided patriotic efforts
from software experts can hurt the cause.

"Computer attacks and hate speech do not contribute in any
constructive way to dealing with the many problems our global
civilization faces," said WorldCom senior vice president Vinton Cerf,
who is scheduled to appear in the televised announcement.

The first of its kind to address the issue of hacking, the "Hackers
Against Terrorism" spot will attempt to channel U.S. computer security
gurus into productive rather than destructive action, said Parry
Aftab, executive director of Cyberangels, an Internet safety and help
organization that is sponsoring the ads.

"The hacker community is very important in the fight against
terrorism. But we want to get the message out that if they want to get
busy doing good stuff, they should come to us and not try to take
action on their own," said Aftab.

Following the Sept. 11 attacks, hackers have defaced several websites
with both pro- and anti-American messages.

Many in government and industry are now concerned that well-meaning
U.S. hackers may launch denial-of-service attacks or release worms or
viruses aimed at disrupting terrorists, and in the process hurt the
overall Internet.

Cyberangels hopes to enlist politically motivated hackers instead to
help with online intelligence gathering, such as tracking down
computer criminals who attempt to attack the Internet infrastructure,
said Aftab.

The organization is also seeking information on any terrorist groups
that may have attempted to commission computer security experts to aid
them, she said.

Even though he's old enough to be the grandfather of some of the
hackers, Cerf was chosen as spokesman for the campaign because,
according to Aftab, he's regarded as one of the creators of the
Internet and is "the original geek and a hacker in the truest sense of
the word."

Earlier this month, a German group known as the Chaos Computer Club
publicly appealed to hackers worldwide not to engage in retaliatory
hacking in the wake of the terrorist attacks.

Dorothy Denning, an expert on information warfare at Georgetown
University, said the Cyberangels ad could make a difference if it
convinces pro-U.S. hackers to refrain from destructive actions. But
she fears that the spots will not deter anti-American hackers.

"They will not stop. I am concerned about how far they might take some
of their attacks," said Denning.

Decisions about whether to run a public service announcement are at
the discretion of each network and individual TV stations, but Aftab
said she believes the Cyberangels spot will garner good airtime.

"I think the networks and the media really want to help here. So we
believe each of them will pick it up," Aftab said.

Two hacker favorites -- USA Cable's Sci-Fi Channel, and UPN's hit show
Buffy the Vampire Slayer -- would be perfect places to air the spot,
said Aftab, who is on the advisory committee of the Advertising
Council, a nonprofit which helped put together the "Friends Don't Let
Friends Drive Drunk" public service campaign.

But targeting hackers with prime-time ads could ultimately backfire,
according to Fred Cohen, an expert in information protection at the
University of New Haven.

"It will tend to give them an overblown sense of importance and may
well induce them to do more. After all, a lot of this is just for
attention and fame," he said.



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