Red-faced chip-fryer AMD pulls blog offline after hackers munch 32KB AMD's blog was taken offline after a hacker broke into the chipmaker's site and lifted a small number of user credentials. Black hat hacking crew r00tbeersec subsequently uploaded 189 usernames, a similar number of email addresses and and what seems like PHPass-hashed passwords, which it claims were swiped from AMD's WordPress …
First we don't know what security existed nor if it was "piss-poor"...but we do know that if there was no hacking no crime would have been committed. Blaming the victim for the crime is pretty ignorant.
If you leave your unlocked car in your driveway and someone steals it, locking the doors would not necessarily have prevented them from stealing it. it probably would not have even slowed them down as they smashed the window to gain entry. Locks just keep honest people honest. They don't prevent criminals from B&E or stealing. the same applies to net security. More locks help but they don't prevent a determined criminal from committing a crime.
That is a poor analogy and a fallacious argument. A website is not a car and access to any database can be limited very easily, and not simply shattered with a good whack like a car window.
Furthermore, when you are storing data belonging to other people, it is your responsibility to keep it safe. Most often in these situations, it is not the company that is the victim, but the people. Not often are corporate secrets leaked, but instead passwords and personal information belonging to average people.
While ideally there would be no hackers, in a lot of previous cases the problem is made a lot worse by badly configured and unpatched systems. Often as the admin is not sufficiently qualified, caring, or provided with the resources to do it right.
By your analogy, a bank that kept our money in shoe-boxes under various beds should not be blamed if they were robbed?
"By your analogy, a bank that kept our money in shoe-boxes under various beds should not be blamed if they were robbed?"
Where as they keep it safe and rob the tax payer blind every day.
Personally, it would be safer in shoe boxes than in speculators hands, who are little more than gambling addicts.
If authorities were to hang all hackers by their thumbs for say two months I'd bet the number of hackers would be reduced. In fact if all criminals that commit a felony were hung by their thumbs for two months we could eliminate prison over-crowding issues, reduce costs to house career criminals, etc.
That might be a real good idea - make all felonies punishable by being hung by their thumbs for two months. If they surviuve two months with no food and water then they are free to go. If not dig a hole and throw them in.
For every e-mail name disclosed, fine the hacker(s) $10,000 (each), per copy. Seize all of their assets and auction them off to pay the fine. If they fall short on funds then add one year in prison for every $10,000 they are short. The minimum prison time should be five years plus the fine.
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