Where Have All the Hackers Gone?
April 19, 2007 at 1:31 am by Day Radebaugh
My barber was commenting the other day about the disappearance of Internet hackers. “Seems like there used to be a deadly new virus on the Net every other day”, he said as he clipped away. “They made the evening news, caused terrible disruption for a while, then faded, only to be replaced by other more malicious worms, trojans, and malware. But you don’t hear about them anymore; why not?” I pondered these remarks later as I did my online banking, checked auctions on eBay, and visited my seniors-only social networking site.
He’s right, but why? Is it because there is more pressing news to devote the airwaves to, like Anna Nicole Smith? No, I didn’t think so. Networks just not reporting it anymore? Maybe. Is security so much better that these exploits are defeated? Possibly, but as everyone knows, there’s a long way to go, and some very smart people out there are dedicated to mischief.
I think the openness of Web 2.0 will create new opportunities for hackers. Ajax, for example, offers many ways to get security wrong. It’s already clear that Web 2.0 provides a context for antisocial behavior, such as death threats and Google bombs. But the worst is yet to come.