[iwar] news


From: Fred Cohen
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Date: Thu, 4 Jan 2001 21:02:13 -0800 (PST)
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Moscow 'school' trains hackers for a career 

Toronto Globe and Mail  Copyright 2001 Journal Sentinel Inc. Milwaukee=
 Journal Sentinel 

Moscow -- They call themselves "the Viper Brothers," "the Software=
 Underground Empire" and "Armageddon in Russia."

They borrow their philosophy from martial arts and Zen Buddhism. They study=
 at the feet of a bearded guru known as "Arvi the Hacker," or simply "the=
 Teacher."

They are the teenage students of Russia's first school of computer hacking.=
 And while their skills and bravado might seem dangerous, they say they are=
 the good guys, defending their clients from an international war of=
 viruses, hack attacks and computer crime. 

The Civil Hackers' School, operating from a shabby little Moscow apartment,=
 is helping shape the new generation of Russian computer whiz kids who have=
 provoked fear and anxiety in the West. Russian hackers are blamed for a=
 series of crimes in recent years: stealing secret Microsoft source codes;=
 ransacking the Pentagon's computers; hacking into NATO Web sites; posting=
 thousands of credit-card numbers on the Internet; and stealing millions of=
 dollars from Western banks.

The country's post-Soviet economic collapse, combined with its rampant=
 software piracy and its prowess in mathematics, has created a breeding=
 ground for aggressive young hackers.

In Moscow, the hackers' school sees itself at the forefront of a=
 revolution.

"A hacker can do something that influences all of mankind," says the=
 school's founder, Ilya Vasilyev, 27, a former software pirate better known=
 on the Internet as "Arvi the Hacker."

"Every country, every company, needs hackers now," he tells his students.=
 "You have a feeling that you can do anything. You don't have that in any=
 other job."

Several hundred have studied at the hacker school since 1996, earning=
 bracelets with ranks similar to judo belts. The highest honor is a black=
 bracelet, known as "guru level."

The school, preaching an altruistic moral code, says it trains students for=
 legitimate jobs in computer security, defending employers against viruses=
 or hack attacks.

"I won't take students when I see they have a criminal tendency," Vasilyev=
 says. "A hacker must be a wise person, like a samurai or a karate master.=
 You have to use all of your wisdom not to harm people."

But the temptations are constant. The first lesson for freshmen students is=
 a stern warning against illegal hacking.

"Many people read about hackers in the newspapers, and they think how great=
 it is," Vasilyev tells the teenagers. " But they don't read to the end of=
 the article, where the hacker gets sentenced to jail."

One of latest high-profile hacker exploits was the raid on Microsoft in=
 which the secret source codes for the latest Windows program were taken.=
 The hacker was traced back to St. Petersburg, which has become a hotbed of=
 hacking.

Russian hackers first captured the world's imagination in 1994 when a young=
 mathematician, Vladimir Levin, hacked into the computers of Citibank and=
 transferred $12 million to the bank accounts of friends around the world.=
 He conducted the entire operation from his St. Petersburg apartment.

He was eventually arrested and jailed, but others were inspired to similar=
 feats of cybercrime. Ilya Hoffman, a viola student at the Moscow=
 Conservatory, was arrested in 1998 on charges of stealing $97,000 over the=
 Internet. He served a year in jail.

Another group of Russians stole more than $630,000 by hacking into Internet=
 retailers and grabbing credit-card numbers. Banking-fraud specialists have=
 warned that Russian hackers are the greatest single threat to security at=
 European banks.

"Piracy is prospering, and nobody is fighting it," said Sergei Pokrovsky,=
 25, editor of Khaker, a hacker magazine that has built a circulation of=
 50,000 in just two years.

" Pirate software is for sale everywhere. People get used to the idea that=
 piracy is normal. Computer crimes aren't seen as very serious. The police=
 have so many other problems on their hands. A lost credit card is seen as=
 nothing, compared to murder and all the other crimes in this country." 

Because of the shortage of high-paying computer jobs in Russia, even=
 skilled specialists can be limited to salaries of just a few hundred=
 dollars a month. Hacking is a tempting alternative. By stealing a=
 password, they can use the Internet for free. And by cracking programs or=
 doing pirate software jobs in the evening, they can boost their incomes=
 considerably.

Some of the world's biggest Internet companies, including Compuserve and=
 America Online, were forced to abandon Russia in 1997 because of the=
 widespread use of stolen passwords.

Hacking can also be a political message. Hackers are active on both sides=
 of the Chechnya war, in the ranks of the Russian secret police and in=
 coordinated attacks on military computers in the United States and other=
 members of NATO.

When NATO launched its bombing campaign in Yugoslavia last year, Russian=
 hackers retaliated with their own wave of attacks on NATO member=
 countries, breaking into their Web sites, posting anti-NATO slogans and=
 overloading them with floods of junk e-mail.

"I supported it," Pokrovsky said. "It was an outburst of emotion. It had no=
 practical results, but we wanted to show that we could influence the West=
 through the Internet. It was like a banner of truth. And the hackers knew=
 they wouldn't be punished for it. When the police caught one guy, they=
 just congratulated him." 

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