Hackers have liberated one of the Internet's most popular security websites from its corporate owners.
This time, however, it's perfectly legal.
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During the peak of the Internet boom in mid-1999, when attracting hordes of visitors to your website was more important than making money, the information security company purchased Packet Storm from founder Ken Williams for what was reportedly about $150,000.Packet Storm features links to security news, bulletins and tips -- but is perhaps best known for its uncensored archive of live exploit code. Researchers study the code to learn how to guard against intrusions, while unskilled would-be hackers use it to break into computers that haven't been secured properly. When the market downturn and Securify's changing business model threatened Packet Storm's existence, some Securify employees and like-minded geektrepreneurs decided to run the site as a nonprofit venture. "With the expectation of profit removed, we have a lot more freedom," says Emerson Tan, a newly minted Packet Storm editor who lives in Calgary and works for a management consulting firm he did not want named in this article. Tan brings an open-source attitude toward his work. Instead of having Packet Storm rely on one site, he plans a network of mirror sites and is asking for news and file contributions. |
Source: Wired News
