RE: Is Linux creating a new breed of Hacke

[LENGARD Pascal OCISI <pascal.lengard@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> Before Linus and his team of hackers threw open the source of
> the kernel
> to the world, the kernel had always been a mystery, known
> only to a select
> group of people (Remember mode X and the game programmers efforts to
> keep it a secret ?). There had been a few books describing
> the kernel, and
> also some went on giving codes for a small working kernel. That's all.
> Nothing of anything as serious in nature as the Linux kernel.
>
> Suddenly everything changed. The code for the kernel lay
> bare. GNU/Linux
> with its efforts for open source, gave the kernel to the
> world. Of course it
> was
> copylefted to Linus !! Anyone with an active knowledge of C,
> and a good
> knowledge of Assembler, internals could easily manipulate the
> code, and
> hack it down. And of course find the bugs in the code which can be
> manipulated.
>
> If this manipulation is for gaining knowledge, and not
> harming any remote
> systems,
> it would do a hell lot of good to the Linux itself, which
> really it did. But
> few chose
> the other way, and well today Linux is the most hacked
> system, maybe in some
> cases causing harm.
>
> Even before a bug in the kernel is discovered and patched, it has been
> explored
> by some remote hacker. So with this abundant hacking, can the
> users be safe
> with Linux ? Is there a way out of this catch ?
Don't mis-use the term 'hack' as too aften on TV.
Linux is the most hacked system, that is sure. But you can not do any   
harm by hacking your system.
Hackers are NOT crackers. The opposite might be more true: crackers often   
are hackers too.
Windows is the most cracked system. You see the difference?
Most cracked because most installed and never patched against holes.
Windows is a nightmare for an administrator: holes are exposed on   
rootshell and no patch comes to correct this.
The result is that even children playing with their computers can crack   
these systems. The holes exposed months ago are still valid ones...
Now the same administrator with linux can patch his system the day after   
the problem is found.
Far less chance that stupid guys trying to be important crack their   
system by using rootshell infos.
There are not that much crackers able to find a hole and the way to use   
it. They exist, but they are not so numerous. The problem comes from the   
less clever ones, using the security sites to take a complete crack   
solution.
Now linux with its open source have exposed its internals to thousands of   
people looking for holes. Holes are surely still existing, but the   
cracker has to be more and more clever. He has to understand the   
internals of packet re-assembly, the differences between the other   
systems to take advantage of this. Far more: the guy who discover this   
will fix his name in the kernel sources by releasing the patch correcting   
the problem.
Just one thing more:
give me the name of the system that no-one could crack.
give me the name of the system that can have patches available faster   
than linux.
>
> BTW, I am not against open sourcing the softwares. ;-)
neither do I :-)
> Suvendra
pascal

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