Comments on: Q&A: Adrian Lamo, the hacker philosopher

Dubbed the "homeless hacker" by the media, Adrian Lamo's unauthorized penetration testing led to his arrest, but to some his acts were more performance art than crime.

[c-n-e-t]

That's all well and good, but ... *bites lip* when will c|net hold a poll to determine who's cuter: Adrian Lamo or Mark Abene?

THE COMMUNITY DESERVES TO KNOW ONCE AND FOR ALL!~@

[elinormills]

Okay, now that made me laugh. thanks.

[n3td3v]

Why is Cnet interviewing blackhat hackers? They don't deserve the attention.

[ancientt]

Because this is an interesting person who did interesting things and did NOT harm anybody in the process.

[Michichael]

He's not technically blackhat. I'd call that grey hat. Illegal yes, unethical no...

[Adrian Lamo]

I believe the short answer would be "ad impressions" =)

[krizhek]

This is a great interview I loved it. Very interesting read.

[divisionbyzero]

Please don't call this guy a philosopher.

[mbenedict]

Enjoyed the interview, thanks!!

[jclbca]

Wow. Isn't it ironic that the messages criticizing the interview is exactly the line of thinking that Lamo is trying to expose as fallible? Or did I miss something?

[InformedDigitalCitizen]

I've had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Lamo myself, and he was kind enough to speak at a computer security enthusiast meeting I run, without compensation. He is one of the most well-mannered, gentle, and thoughtful people I have ever met.

As a blackhat hacker means someone who is completely malicious and does not consider the well-being of anyone involved in their actions, I would say in response to n3td3v's comment that Adrian Lamo is NOT a blackhat hacker.

If the wikipedia definition (yes, it is cited from several textbooks published by reputable publishers) of philosophy is accurate, "Philosophy is a study of problems which are ultimate, abstract and very general. These problems are concerned with the nature of existence, knowledge, morality, reason and human purpose.", then we can say very positively, even if only from the contents of this interview, that Mr. Lamo IS, in fact, a philosopher.

Furthermore, I invite anyone to check the comment records of both n3td3v and divisionbyzero, which show a trend of disapproving, sarcastic, and negative comments. In other words, consider the source.

I think if there were more gentlemen like Mr. Lamo in the world, it would be a better place.

[allis0]

Very well said!

[leedix8420]

Not only would the world be a better place, but a safer, more resonsible and secure place. Especially the Internet... Everyday we get bombarded by the media with stories of fraudsters and cybercriminals who steal from hard working innocent people. To see it at its worst go check out McAfee's H*Commerce... I first heard of Adrian Lamo in Kevin Mitnick's Book, The Art of Intrusion, and I couldn't help but feel disgust towards the companies that prosecuted him. To my amusement I also couldn't help but smile and lol when he actually started helping the people who got neglected by those companies... To characterize him as a blackhat is unwarranted... Instead we should show respect to the "Robin Hood" of Hackers... I can only hope that there are more of him out there.. Challenging the impossible and discovering vulnerabilities but with the decency to help instead of harm...

[WilliaMITCHELL]

Good article, but once again, the real difference should be made between a 'hacker' and a 'cracker', or possibly coin some new appellation for the in-between. Hacking for the sense of 'learning', breaking into a site just for the thrill or just because it can be done, or cracking into a site for nefarious reasons, all maybe wrong, but, to me. there's a wide degree of difference. I guess it's intention at the time of the deed.

[Optimus6128]

The original definition of a hacker was basically that of a very good, usually hobbyist (with a personal need to learn and explore computers), programmer. At that time you didn't need to be specifically into security breaking to distinguish yourself from the rest. I think that when people tried to pull out the distinction of a 'hacker' and a 'cracker' they meaned that one, not the good security breaker versus the bad security breaker. You don't need to be the ultra-cool / ultra-leet dude breaking stuff on the net to have the hacker spirit. As even the interviewed guy says "my interest in what you might call hacking isn't really primarily about technology...It's not sexy when I'm exploring less obvious aspects of the world that don't involve multibillion-dollar corporations. There's a certain amount of tunnel vision there. ". I actually liked this one.

Also, another bunch of people breaking copy protections from software are called 'crackers' and they have not much to do with the hacker/cracker distinction in my opinion. Nobody asked them. Those people are deep into programming and assembly coding. Most hackers do stuff with tools and by luck. Maybe few of the hackers have a good ethics I could respect, the most are doing it in the same way some anarchists break stuff in the city, without properly thought intentions, just because being a so called "hacker" is hip.

The H-word has died for me.

[matthaynie]

I know a few people in IT that have been "homeless", they also happen to be a few of the smarter people I know. I think it means that they are willing to ignore boundaries that most people won't. Sometimes it's good sometimes it's bad, but they probably expect more out of life than most.

[mary223]

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