Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Career Choice Tip: Cybercrime Is Mostly Boring

krebsonsecurity.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

71–80 of 106 posts

Re: Career Choice Tip: Cybercrime Is Mostly Boring

#71

Post by toyg »

dillonmckay wrote: post #55
cmehdy wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The hoodie is already used to typecast criminals, drug dealers in rough neighborhoods, etc. It's also a sign of relative youth (<40 years old). Dark places are an uninventive way to say they're doing something "bad". What's funny is that while they are depicted as being smart/dangerous, they're also depicted as being white and male, which is also a usual sterotype and conveniently forgets the proportion of extremely…

And also people over 40 that wear hoodies.

Represent!

Re: Career Choice Tip: Cybercrime Is Mostly Boring

#72

Post by toyg »

bitwize wrote: post #34
FillardMillmore wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've noticed it before but never thought too deeply about it. Where did this 'stereotypical hacker' image stem from anyway? Computer 'nerds' are often cast with pressed button-up shirts, pocket protectors, and thick glasses. But if they are a 'bad nerd', they suddenly don a mysterious hoodie that covers their face as they work in a cave-like room like some kind of new-age techno-troglodyte?

I think it comes from recent popular media, like the Watch_Dogs games and the TV show Mr. Robot . Hoodies are a way to prevent people from seeing or identifying you, so media people use it as a visual shorthand for "this person wishes to conceal their identity". Back in the 90s, hackers were all cybergoth ravers; this image is more in line with the $CURRENT_YEAR zeitgeist in which pervasive surveillance is a top issu…

It’s not “media people”, I can assure you that most modern street criminals wear hoodies. It’s a cheap and easy way to switch to “incognito mode” at will. In places like London and Manchester, most crime-related CCTV will feature hooded thugs. There have been arguments about forbidding hoodies in public areas and shopping malls all the way back to the ‘90s.

To be honest it’s as old as capes, we’ve just lost the cape.

Re: Career Choice Tip: Cybercrime Is Mostly Boring

#73

Post by TheOtherHobbes »

Nextgrid wrote: post #39
J5892 wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Similar skillset, but as a pentester you need to be an expert in both offense and defense. So the cybercriminal side is much easier.

What do you mean by defense? Covering your tracks? In this case I'd argue it's the opposite - in pentesting the worst that can happen if you get spotted is a failed test, while in real crime this could be the difference between freedom and jail.

In real crime the worst that can happen is some unpleasant people decide to kill you because reasons.

That's rarely a problem with authorised white hat work.

Re: Career Choice Tip: Cybercrime Is Mostly Boring

#74

Post by nonines »

ackbar03 wrote: post #49
Nextgrid wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most corporate security is about compliance, audits, regulation and balancing the need for security with the needs of the (often stupid) users. Very little of it is actually tech. There is pentesting and malware analysis for the actual "tech" stuff but it is quite a small market to be honest.

>but it is quite a small market to be honest. I get that impression too. I do some cybersecurity type stuff as a hobby and was hoping to make a business out of it somehow but it doesn't seem to be a easy market to crack.

My impression as well. I was thinking getting a career shift into pentesting (rumor has it that it's remote-friendly as well) but after a few job searches I came to see that the job market is tiny.

Re: Career Choice Tip: Cybercrime Is Mostly Boring

#76

Post by amelius »

> But new research suggests that as cybercrime has become dominated by pay-for-service offerings, the vast majority of day-to-day activity needed to support these enterprises is in fact mind-numbingly boring and tedious

Fighting cybercrime must also be mostly boring then, as it is also done through pay-for-service offerings.

Re: Career Choice Tip: Cybercrime Is Mostly Boring

#79

Post by [deleted] »

dehrmann wrote: post #59
trade_unionist wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can be traced. Monero is another option but I've heard it can be traced too. I certainly wouldn't bet my life on it. But in either case you still have to convert it into cash at some point.

Not just that it can be traced, there's a long-lived distributed ledger of the transaction. In a way, it's one of the worst choices.

[deleted]

Re: Career Choice Tip: Cybercrime Is Mostly Boring

#80

Post by RandomBacon »

trade_unionist wrote: post #27
anonymousDan wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bitcoin?

Can be traced. Monero is another option but I've heard it can be traced too. I certainly wouldn't bet my life on it. But in either case you still have to convert it into cash at some point.

Do you have a link to any current research showing that Monero can be traced?

I'm interested in facts, not rumors.

Post reply on HN