The exploits of @LulzSec (LulzSecurity.com) a rowdy, funny but deadly serious group of hackers has captured the Internet's heart and law enforcement's attention.
In barely a month @LulzSec has gained over 175,000 Twitter followers, and the numbers grow dramatically daily.
They have spawned a slew of amusing YouTube videos, spin offs and interview invitations which they obviously have to decline.
Under a pirate motif, @LulzSec often publicly announces the targets of their attacks in advance and then releases the results for the entire world to see.
Along the way they have exposed a number of cybersecurity charlatans.
Critics complain that LulzSec's actions are criminal and seriously compromise and hurt large numbers of people.
The establishment media, responding to law enforcement fury and a need to protect valued advertisers, has largely echoed this anger with a few notable exceptions.
@LulzSec responds that many of the hacks they have used were EASY exploits of known software vulnerabilities that many other hackers could easily have used to access the same data.
Sadly, Sony, one of their most prominent and persistent targets, was NOT quick to respond. Sony failed to correct their data security problems promptly so they were hacked again and again.
For large companies like Sony, this means: 1) Their data security personnel are inadequate, or; 2) Their data security people knew what to do but management refused to fund it, or; 3) They outsourced their data processing to vendors who did a very poor job of securing customer data.
As investigations proceed, it's important to identify the real cause of these serious security lapses.
Most customers and computer users expect that the personal information they give large corporations should be kept secure.
Any anger about these breaches should be directed at the companies who failed to keep their customer data safe and not at these hackers.
Isn't it much worse for unknowns to break in, steal and abuse customer information unnnoticed than to have @LulzSec reveal to the world what was easily accessible to other hackers?
It's fun and fascintating to watch LulzSec's exploits evolve.
An Internet incarnation of the Pirates of the Carribean combined with twists of Zorro, Robin Hood and the Love Boat, @LulzSec educates the public in data security matters while it entertains us at the same time.
The Internet will be a safer place for us all as a result of their actions.
Copyright 1999- , Michele Moore. Free Use Granted when source is cited. Explore HappinessHabit.com.
