Schedule

We meet MW, 4:00 - 5:15 pm, in South College W211

WEEK 9 Hacker

M 20 MarchMIT

• Read Levy, Hackers, first half
• The world of quantities: Quantcast, Network analysis at Plot-IP, Webstat checker; site popularity at Site Trail;
• Domain tools: whois etc.
• [As of 3/9/17] CIA leak. Wikileaks Vault 7 (Table of Contents); NYT/Reuters report; Bruce Schneier on the leaks ("there is absolutely nothing illegal in the contents of any of this stuff. It's exactly what you'd expect the CIA to be doing in cyberspace"); CIA organization chart.
• Teddy Bears spy on kids.
• Ransomware; tools to decrypt and disable ransomware. (Kaspersky is one of the top e-security companies on earth.) Other help; Ransomware now maps networks.
• Exploit kits—packages of software used by script-kiddies (i.e., wanna-be hackers).

 

W 22 MarchWest of Boston

• Read more Levy, Hackers, second half.
• The Hacker Manifesto.
• Anonymous: Freeanons.org; Anonops;
• FBI Cybercrime Division

From http://www.mithral.com/~beberg/hacker.html HACKER: [originally, someone who makes furniture with an axe] A person who enjoys exploring the details of programmable systems and how to stretch their capabilities, as opposed to most users, who prefer to learn only the minimum necessary. One who programs enthusiastically (even obsessively) or who enjoys programming rather than just theorizing about programming. A person capable of appreciating hack value. A person who is good at programming quickly. An expert at a particular program, or one who frequently does work using it or on it; as in `a UNIX hacker'. (Definitions 1 through 5 are correlated, and people who fit them congregate.) An expert or enthusiast of any kind. One might be an astronomy hacker, for example. One who enjoys the intellectual challenge of creatively overcoming or circumventing limitations. [deprecated] A malicious meddler who tries to discover sensitive information by poking around. Hence "password hacker", "network hacker". The correct term is cracker.