Saturday, July 14, 2007

Flying through, I'll drop you a couple of quick thoughts.

Cybershock by Winn Schwartau almost gets it.  Winn's a hacker, he knows hackers.  He knows it's not about swiping money by the cent or jacking the Pentagon homepage.  It's about solving problems, fighting against a machine to prove you're better than the designer.  So some hackers start causing trouble.  And some of it's just for fun.  But hacking isn't about causing trouble for people.  That just happens.

While I'm here, I'll drop a few practical tips on physical hacking.  You want to get somewhere that looks hard to get to, but you want to get there quickly, without getting caught, and without getting killed.  I can't help you with the getting killed, you're just going to need a lot of physical skill.  All good hacking takes place at night.  Get used to it.  

College campuses have a lot of opportunities, especially for students.  Security isn't always tight, and students often have access to buildings 24.  You should get a lot of foot traffic, so you can have a big audience if you find a good location.  And schools have issues that students care about, in case you want to make a statement.

Hotels often have few people wandering around, and nobody will ask you what you're doing there.  Rent a room, and the building is yours.  Check into a five-story or taller hotel, and take the stairs.  At the top floor you'll probably find roof access.  If you're lucky, and I've been lucky before, some merking maintenance man forgot to close the padlock.  The roof is mostly invisible, so get your supplies up there quick and do your work up there.  If you can make a big 3d model, just stand it on the roof and get out of there.  Or you could drop a banner down the side of the building.  I'm sure you're creative.

When I have more time and more tricks, I'll throw them at you.