Just 18 but hacker whiz-kid can counter Net criminals

‘Cybercriminals are always two steps ahead. You need to mingle with them, get their information and use it to protect yourself. — Mr Ankit Fadia, 18, who published his first book, The Unofficial Guide To Ethical Hacking, at age 14 FOR Indian whiz-kid Ankit Fadia, being a hacker puts him squarely on the side of the good guys. To the digital intelligence consultant, who is just 18, there is nothing wrong with being a hacker as his role is to protect systems by finding and fixing vulnerabilities. The dangerous folk are ‘crackers’ or ‘black hats’, who have malicious purposes. He admits, however, that a fine line exists between hackers and crackers. Stanford’s Centre for Internet and Society’s director Jennifer Granick told The Straits Times: ‘This is an ongoing debate in the community. In short, the information that enables people to exploit vulnerabilities is almost identical to the information that enables people to fix them. ‘The question remains as to how and in what format to release information to best promote computer security.’ Full Story