Hackers competition...

[Andre' Kesteloot]

OPENHACK III - GRAND PRIZE $50,000
by Dave Murphy, member@itrain.org

OpenHack III, a computer-hacking contest sponsored by eWeek
magazine, an
affiliate of ZDNet, featured some stiff competition when it
opened yesterday.

Argus Systems Group, vendor of the PitBull computer security
product faced
all comers. The comers, hackers vying  for the grand prize
of $50,000, will
attempt to crack PitBull's security in a replay of some of
the most famous
Irish bare-knuckle fist fights from turn of the century New
York.

Called the "Fort Knox of computer security," PitBull claims
impenetrable
security. We'll I'm here to tell you, there's no such thing
as impenetrable
computer security. Given enough time and smarts, all
electronically locked
doors can be opened.

Hackers generally try to access computer operating systems
by exploiting
holes in the applications the systems run, and most security
products try
to plug those holes. But PitBull protects the operating
systems themselves,
making it virtually impossible for a hacker to gain access.

In the PitBull contest, hackers must complete four tasks
related to
corrupting a website protected by PitBull within two weeks.
There are
prizes for being the first to complete each task, and a
grand prize goes to
the first to complete all four. The prize is in cash because
if a car were
the grand prize,  most contestants aren't old enough to
drive it off the stage.

In recent contests in Las Vegas and Munich, Germany, hackers
failed to
break into Argus-protected systems.

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