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Ask HN: Recent computer hacking convictions and employability?

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Re: Ask HN: Recent computer hacking convictions and employability?

#61

Post by abotsis »

vxNsr wrote: post #43
DrBoring wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Stop telling yourself that. You wouldn't be #11 out of 25,000 if you weren't talented. I like this advice. I used to think I wasn't as good a programmer than a friend of mine because he had a larger breadth of skills than myself. Then I actually saw the code he was producing professionally ... and it was crap. It was functional sure, but not maintainable at all (if the business rules changed, then rewrites were awf…

> On the topic of cheating: In 6th grade spelling class, we had to write out our weekly spelling words 5 times each. We were allowed to handwrite, or type it out on a computer and hand in the printout. I wrote a computer program where I would input the spelling words as an array (only typing them once), and it would output a text file for me to print out and hand in. Wow, I wonder what the goal of that exercise was.…

I did this in WordPerfect in dos, even though I could program in pascal. Getting a compiler on the same computer as a printer back then was the biggest chore :)

Re: Ask HN: Recent computer hacking convictions and employability?

#62

Post by runjake »

- Stop with the self-deprecation BS. It's hurting you, in the eyes of yourself and others. But don't be cocky, just be humble.

- Own your past. You've paid the price to society. Go public and tell your story -- be it a sentence, a tweet, a paragraph, an article, a podcast episode[1], or a book. Putting it all out in the open will make you more hireable.

- Don't fsck it up. Grow your integrity and ethics, or at least maintain them and keep them impeccable. Keep that old saying[2] in mind, it's so very true in a case like yours.

- Connect with others in areas you are interested in. (Twitter seems to be great for cybersecurity)

- You did the blackmail thing as part of your crimes, so realize it will take time and effort to gain trust.

- If you have that particular hacker mindset, you can quickly acquire the modern skill sets.

1. Maybe Jack might want to have you on Darknet Diaries at some point, if your story is interesting enough? He does it in a story-telling style that takes the pressure off the guest that they would normally have in an hour-long interview format.

2. (NSFW quote about bridge building) https://www.quotes.net/mquote/73833

Re: Ask HN: Recent computer hacking convictions and employability?

#63

Post by ianai »

inetknght wrote: post #4

> I'm not particularly talented Stop telling yourself that. You wouldn't be #11 out of 25,000 if you weren't talented. As long as you're open about your past and convictions, and your legal standing permits employment doing the work you'd do, then there's nothing stopping you from applying. When you see a job posting then look at what the requirements are. If you fit more than half then you should apply. The things y…

I think they meant for the usual jobs unemployment would attempt to match with an ex-con.

Re: Ask HN: Recent computer hacking convictions and employability?

#64

Post by czbond »

d4mi3n wrote: post #47

My company is hiring. I'm a firm believer that folks shouldn't be punished by the US justice system, but instead reformed. I can't speak to your circumstances, but my team is hiring for folks like you and barring any policies I'm unaware of I'd be happy to help you make a connection. Details in my profile if you're interested. On a more general note, there's currently a high, steady-state demand for AppSec, CloudSec,…

Following on - OP could also take an advisory role in a consulting firm - potentially in office strategy and implementation of penetration testing, etc.

Re: Ask HN: Recent computer hacking convictions and employability?

#65

Post by ianai »

I’d probably double down on going after any legal bounties corporations have posted. Whatever certs you can get too for the HR reps in your future. Oh and “aggressive compliance” to probation and any and all laws.

Edit-also, you do have highly valuable skills and knowledge. Maybe make some 30 minute to hour long video tutorials. Then start drafting up a 1-2 week course plan for taking professionals up to your level if they start with some basic dev/ops knowledge.

Think about ethical and legal ways to teach things too.

Edit 2-or just go to any of the net sec teaching/tutorial programs and say you’d like to teach your knowledge in a legally viable/acceptable way within their frameworks. Etc.

Re: Ask HN: Recent computer hacking convictions and employability?

#66

Post by bink »

inglor wrote: post #8

A bunch of friends just look for and then sell vulnerabilities (the good ones to bug boundary programs the less ethical ones to governments or companies). The price of a zero day exploit is quite high (for both sides) and I have friends who make much more money than I do doing this. That said they mostly work alone or in small groups in their basement rather than at a large security company. I would hire (or at least…

As someone in the security field, please don't sell exploits to brokers. Aside from the moral and ethical implications it's also doing a disservice to the industry in general.

Re: Ask HN: Recent computer hacking convictions and employability?

#67

Post by rootsudo »

I don't see any issue hiring you, there is a drain of true talent in the field.

Be upfront and spin your story like Kevin Mitnick, publish a few articles and maintain a blog with your name and identity.

Get a polished LinkedIn and post examples of past work, or what if's/what would you do.

You most likely will not pass a background check for FINRA/Insurance companies, but who cares - those companies suck to work for anyway.

You will/can easily bypass that wall by opening up your own LLC and selling consulting services, and verticals like "email security" or just basic/stupid DKIM/DMARC/DNS setup. You'd be surprised how much billing hours MSP's make just doing that basic stuff. I bill $150-200, and SOW's I've seen have it much higher.

So take that as a floor.

You can walk into many employers, and own the entire staff easy, you'd be surprised how low the ceiling is at most companies and how true talent or disorganized companies truly are.

I've interviewed CISSIP/Full blown cert/degree peopel that couldn't even parse together a hello world or explain how to do a HTTP GET. It's that bad out there now.

Re: Ask HN: Recent computer hacking convictions and employability?

#68

Post by DrBoring »

vxNsr wrote: post #43
DrBoring wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Stop telling yourself that. You wouldn't be #11 out of 25,000 if you weren't talented. I like this advice. I used to think I wasn't as good a programmer than a friend of mine because he had a larger breadth of skills than myself. Then I actually saw the code he was producing professionally ... and it was crap. It was functional sure, but not maintainable at all (if the business rules changed, then rewrites were awf…

> On the topic of cheating: In 6th grade spelling class, we had to write out our weekly spelling words 5 times each. We were allowed to handwrite, or type it out on a computer and hand in the printout. I wrote a computer program where I would input the spelling words as an array (only typing them once), and it would output a text file for me to print out and hand in. Wow, I wonder what the goal of that exercise was.…

:) While writing my original post, I tried to mention that copy/paste wasn't common knowledge at the time, but couldn't form a communicative sentence on the matter. I certainly didn't know how to copy/paste at the time.

This was in the days of Windows 3.1, and I was programming in QuickBasic 4.5 on DOS.

I think the word processor I used when typing may have been Word Perfect.

> Regardless, I’d think the main goal of forcing repetitive writing is improving handwriting and word recognition, which require a pen(cil) and not a keyboard.

I think the goal was for us to memorize spelling of the word. Maybe improved handwriting was a sub-goal, I don't know. By that age, I don't think teachers really focused on our penmanship. I consider word recognition to be more of a reading skill.

I was a lazy student. Spelling was never a priority for me. I never did well on tests because I never studied my spelling words. I was more into math and science. My parents never hassled me about my bad spelling test grades.

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