Starting with the CERT site, I examined the statistics and didn't really find them all that surprising. As general internet, email, and WWW use has increased, so have the number of internet security problems. I did find the differentiation of hacker into different categories by hat color (or being a "cracker") interesting, as I had only heard the term in two usages. First, the "Black Hat" hackers that make the news. The other use of hacker that I've seen employed is in multi-player online games to playfully joke at other players who seemingly would have had to cheat somehow via hacking into the game server to pull off a certain action.
The list of famous hackers on Wikipedia was certainly amusing. The fact that a hacker later started up his own internet security business and that another got out of some of his jail time by agreeing to work undercover (undercover?!...it's on Wikipedia...) for the FBI was pretty funny. I did notice most of the entries were on people who were famous for things in the 1990s and early 2000s, so I can only wonder who out there is bored and looking for a challenge/fame (though I would suggest to them that they might consider getting a job). The other site with famous hackers had many of the same people, but a bit more detail that was also interesting. Since most of the people on the second site were convicted of crimes like stealing money from Citibank, it was a good laugh when I saw the creator of Linux on the list. If only we didn't have to pay for Windows and Microsoft crap! :-P
The first article I read on CNN was about a British hacker trying to avoid extradition to the US. In all honesty, I found it depressing that this guy, arrested and indicted in 2002 of crimes in Virginia and New Jersey, is still loafing around in the UK. I do find it funny though that he tried to defend his crimes by saying he was looking for a US government coverup of UFOs when he left notes comparing US foreign policy to terrorism. Though I suppose if he was a really smart criminal he wouldn't have been caught.
The second article I read on CNN was about Microsoft's Xbox Live online gaming service being hacked into. Obviously some hacked accounts are due to people retardedly giving out their username and password, downloading keyloggers, etc. The fact that the article mentions some people had their accounts hacked and their credit card information stolen would seem to indicate that the problem is on Microsoft's end. I don't know of any reputable company in this day and age that would allow you to log onto their site with a username and password and retrieve the full credit card information that you previously paid with.
Obviously internet security issues are here to stay. I just hope I can stay ahead of the hackers with better security options, safe online habits, and a little bit of luck.
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