Fiber Optic Telecommunications Networks: Cybercrime Pays, and More Lessons From HP's Hacking Contest

James F. Booth

For more than 25 years, James Booth has provided consulting and legal services to telecommunications carriers and to enterprise companies that manage their own telecommunications networks. Since June of 2009 he has also served as General Counsel of Spread Networks, LLC, which is the industry leader in the construction and operation of low latency high speed networks. Before joining Spread he was General Counsel for OnFiber Communications, a competitive telecommunications provider, and was the sole attorney for Qwest Communications International in support of its construction of an 18,800 mile fiber optic network spanning the United States. Earlier he was lead counsel for U S WEST in its wireless and cable television ventures in the United States, Europe and Hong Kong.

Monday, March 17, 2014

Cybercrime Pays, and More Lessons From HP's Hacking Contest

Hacking is a solitary business, furtive and dimly lit by the glow of a computer screen, at least in the popular imagination. Not so the semiannual competition known as Pwn2Own, organized by Hewlett-Packard’s (HPQ) Zero Day Initiative (ZDI), where teams gather to demonstrate “exploits,” the insider term for using security vulnerabilities in Web browsers and video streaming programs to gain control of a laptop.

This year, eight contestants (some groups, some individuals) completed 12 successful attacks, winning $850,000 from March 12 to 13 in Vancouver. There was also a chance for HP and Google (GOOG) teams to hack for charity, disclosing vulnerabilities and donating the prize money to the Canadian Red Cross. The results tell you a bit about cybersecurity.

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-03-14/cybercrime-pays-and-more-lessons-from-hps-hacking-contest