mcgrew takes down a bad guy

McGrew is starting his posts about hunting down and getting a hacker arrested for what amounts to a SCADA attack. Via Liquidmatrix I was pointed to a very informative Register article as well.

I sometimes state that I wear a grey hat now and then, but it really is far beyond the line to actually attack a system that has as much importance as an HVAC in a medical clinic; something that can jeopardize lives both directly and indirectly. It is also a gross negligence to subvert the trust placed in someone like a security guard who is meant to protect. Highest kudos to McGrew for doing something about it rather than just ignoring the incident.

After McGrew dropped the name in IRC the other night, I did some of my own quick searching on the person. Hacker kids and little hacker groups and even minor defacements are one thing, but escalating to a degree like this is trouble. Role-playing and playing at this kind of thing is fine, if you ask me (yes, even if you find it cool to wear a gas mask), but you don’t toe that moral right and wrong line. People who do that and have certain psychological dispositions are trouble, as they really have no where else to go but further escalation past that line.

What I found most ironic was a post on a profile that said his dream job was to be with the FBI Cyber Corps. Well, at least he got an up close introduction!