'World's No. 1 hacker' tome rocks security world

A recently published e-book penned by the self-proclaimed “world's No. 1 hacker” is rocking the security community with back-and-forth allegations of plagiarism, racism, and even threats against a security podcaster and his family. How to Become the World's No. 1 Hacker is purportedly written by Gregory D. Evans, an animated …

[Anonymous Coward]

Wow

Uhh ... how do these sorts of people manage to get a job or any funding for a company? Sounds utterly bonkers - and not in the harmless-but-brilliant eccentric kind of way.

[Anonymous Coward]

Just buy a company from a lawyer

The details might vary, but it's pretty trivial to buy a company that's just an empty shell, set up in bulk by some law company. Details depend on where you are. It used to be easier.

Keeping the company legal (accountancy rules and such) is likely a bigger bill. It can avoid tax liability, but is it worth the costs?

[ripratm]

Perfect Ending

"Evans – who often refers to himself as the "world's No. 1 hacker" and is regularly interviewed by various Fox News anchors and affiliates"

Perfect ending to a funny story.

[EdWeb]

Read the book...know the man.

By the great beard of Zeus! I read the first few pages, skimmed a few more. I'm afraid there's nothing more to be said than the man's a right royal cock!

Talk about blowing your own pink trumpet! And it all seems a little (or lot) contrived.

[Edwin]

Mitnick

Funny you should mention that.

I (foolishly) bought Kevin Mitnick's book a few years ago and had much the same feeling :)

[Doshu]

really?

Dang... any particular passages strike you as.. "borrowed"?

[Anonymous Coward]

So...

He gets sued for copyright infringement and the courts assign the wronged party compensation.

That's how it happens in the UK, anyway. Is the US different somehow?

[Andy Shaw]

I thought I recognised the name

...and not for any particularly good reason - Gregory D. Evans currently has pride-of-place at the top of attrition.org's charlatans list (http://attrition.org/errata/charlatan/gregory_evans/) and has been there for a while. The various claims compiled there make for interesting reading - basically, the guy appears to have serious truth issues.

[Tom Maddox]

Well, that's good

"Evans – who often refers to himself as the "world's No. 1 hacker" and is regularly interviewed by various Fox News anchors and affiliates"

He's a shoo-in for CTO in the next Republican Presidential administration!

[Turtle]

On the other hand...

The country would probably be better off in the long run with this guy as CTO than the current Google moles and double agents.

[Anonymous Coward]

"class clown"

I think it looks like there's an extra C and L in "class"

[Anonymous Coward]

And I thought Mitnick was fake...

Turns out this guy trumps Mitnick in ``m4d h4xx0r 5k1llz'', hands down. Now you know what the word really means, nowadays.

Not too surprising. First, the media got hold of it, by lapping up the drivel spouted by pimply faced scriptkiddies, and it started to get a fake life all of its own, fueling the ``IT security industry''. They desperately tried to give themselves a modicum of respectability, how else are you going to get paid, and gave everyone free hats. Now, well, the k1dd13s start to come home from prison. Way to grow up folks.

How was this possible? Easy. The media will give you any tag you claim for yourself. Had they done their homework, they'd've known that originally you didn't claim, but were always given, the moniker. Much like Kentucky Colonel, only less formal. How did we lose it? Much like the general email using populace lost the way to write coherent, readable emails. Washed away in the deluge starting this september.

[The Other Steve]

While we're talking about copyright

You appear to have plagiarised at least two sources in one comment. Good going. Glass houses, and al that.

[Anonymous Coward]

[citation needed]

I didn't do it

I wasn't there

I didn't want it

I wouldn't dare

[Anonymous Coward]

'Hacker's Haven'

Remember that faux article from Glass? The one describing an event during a hacker convention that was published as news ... but in fact never happened?

Looks like this guy took it a step further and made away with the "reporter" angle. He made the facts himself!!!

[Anonymous Coward]

The Sad Thing About Him

...is not he himself, but the broken Merkin Education System which produces "Gangstas" like him. He even XSS problems on his site:

http://attrition.org/errata/charlatan/gregory_evans/ligatt06/

Can we have a Merkin PIC ? Fat Guy with Burger and Rilfe, preferrably.

[Flybert]

Googles for a penny or less ?!?!

"“You could have bought Googles years ago. Just imagine if you bought Googles at a penny or less than a penny how trillionaire you'd be today. I'm trying to give you that same vision."

1. GOOG IPO was at $85 per share .. was it not ?

2.The market value of Exxon-Mobil, Apple and Walmart COMBINED isn't a Trillion USD ..

Imagine though, what a laugh the book would have been if this guy HAD written it ;-)

[The Other Steve]

PKB

From an industry sector that has spent - at least - the last fifteen years recycling the previous decade's phrack articles, mailing lists and usenet posts into excitingly covered books with "hacker" in the title, this whining is nothing short of hilarious.

[neb]

worlds no1 hacker?

wrong!

i'm the worlds no1 hacker and so is my wife!

[Lionel Baden]

Worlds No1 Hacker

Wrong its Mrs Roberts :)

well technically her daughter Elaine :P

[jake]

Dan, Dan, Dan, Dan.

Why does my commentary scare you so much?

[Thomas 4]

Humm....

From the descriptions, he sounds like a script kiddy overdosing on his own ego and undeserved media attention.

I admit my knowledge of hacking is pretty much non-existant but I always thought the number one ethos about hacking was discretion and going unnoticed. The only way this chap could be more obvious is by painting his member fluroescent yellow, waving it around and uploading a video of it when he hacks a site.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Humm....

"The only way this chap could be more obvious is by painting his member fluroescent yellow, waving it around and uploading a video of it when he hacks a site."

I think that should read "when he pretends to hack a site" ;)

[Steve Button]

Oh dear.

After a quick skim, I got to Attack Basics...

2.0 Tool Kit

First before you start any hack, security audit or any other computer security testing you must

have all the write (sic.) tools in place.

[Naughtyhorse]

lolz

it;s rude to mock the hard of thinking. But as i read the article i thought this guy is unable to string a sentance together as

a> he lacks english as a frist language.

b> he's clearly a retard.

even for a kidde this one is almost to good to be true.

ah bless

[Arnold Lieberman]

Pot, meet kettle!

sentance?

english?

frist?

kidde?

[Shane8]

LOL

reminds me of a really great song by a great comedian:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IL4vWJbwmqM

[Anonymous Coward]

Ha!

That is all.

[Shakje]

The guy does sound like a complete tool

but maybe he meant Google's and not Googles? Kind of makes sense if you reread it assuming he meant Google's (shares) each time he said it.

[Doshu]

dude's a loser

plain and simple

full marks for effort, tho -- why i'm sure he'll be richer than them Googles in no time!

yeah! number one! WOO! (not)

[Atonnis]

Give it a year and he'll probably have a contract with Sky...

....for his own series, AND they'll bill him as the 'World's Best Hacker' or something similar.

Sad.

[gimbal]

0.0002 a share? No way!

Can we hit the 0.2E-10 envelope? I bet we can!

[Framitz]

Hmmmm . . . . .

Hmmmm.... Low life ass clown, script kiddy, and successful (for now) con man.

Yeah I think I got it now.

[Anonymous Coward]

Typo alert

From TFPDF :

" Wireshark is a free and open-source packet analyzer. It is used for network troubleshooting, analy-

sis, software and communications protocol development, and education. Originally named

Wireshark, in May 2006 the project was renamed Wireshark due to trademark issues."

Wasn't this packet sniffer originally named Ethereal ?

P.

[Anonymous Coward]

Methinks....

U are correct! XD

[ZenCoder]

He's doing pretty well I think.

Taking into account what he actually has to work with he is doing an amazing job of self promotion.

His next book should be you to can be #1 in your field and be interviewed and published.

[Andy Enderby 1]

yeah but.....

..... but, don;t you just know that in the UK at least, your boss will make this the only "tech" doc he reads this year and will therefore use it as the basis of all his security decisions,...... This chuckwit has made a handsome profit, and although his ringpiece may well have been enlarged whilst detained, he's as we speak or read this, doing rather better than we are.

Enormously depressing aint it when arseholes like this start dictating policy, and you know he will.....

[Markk]

No honor among thieves!

Since when did Black Hats or script kiddies get ethics? This loser is worthy of any discussion at all?

[weekend]

internet tough guy

If legal actions fail this guy deserves some internet justice.

Time to call aquaman!