Experts say hacker hype is threat on its own

After a widely publicized hacking contest failed to cause as much damage as expected last weekend, computer security experts are advocating a novel response for Internet hackers out for a digital joy ride: ignore them. Security firms frequently notify companies about attacks in which hackers can steal data, crash systems or do other nefarious acts. But excess publicity of relatively low-risk threats, such as Web site defacements, can do more harm than good, experts said. Web site defacements, the electronic version of graffiti, cause more of a nuisance than real damage to computer networks, and they occur every day, experts said. “It’s the boy-who-cried-wolf phenomenon,” Bruce Schneier, chief technology officer at network monitoring firm Counterpane Internet Security, said on Monday. Hyping non-threats “dulls people to the real threats.” The Information Technology-Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ISAC), run by Atlanta-based Internet Security Systems Inc., and New York’s Cyber Security and Critical Infrastructure Coordination center issued warnings last week about a Web site defacement challenge scheduled for Sunday. Full Story