Hacking for a Good Cause

(I-SoftwareNews.Com, December 31, 2014 ) San Francisco, CA -- With daily news of North Korean Hacking, Sony, and Microsoft’s Xbox Live being subject to DDoS attacks; hacking has received a lot of attention over the past few weeks. While many of us think of hacking as something similar to the 80’s cult classic ‘Wargames’, the reality is far different. Most hack attacks are run by "bots", software tools designed to look for exploits in a hardware infrastructure. The reality is there is very little coding going on, and not many hackers are coders.

The “Low Earth Ion Cannon” (LOIC) is one such tool, not particularly sophisticated the "LOIC" causes a simulated browser to constantly refresh. On one system alone, the program is mostly useless, but when 10,000 or more systems combine to DDoS one site the results can be catastrophic. Most recently, bringing down Sony’s and Microsoft’s live gaming services. Still, a far cry from what we imagine the first time we heard “shall we play a game”.

There is another less discussed, yet growing form of “hacking”. Parental monitoring software with enough features to make the NSA jealous. These applications are no doubt intrusive, invading chats, keylogging and sometimes even “listening in”. Are parents justified in the use of these applications? One can’t help but think of recent suicides due to online bullying, while attempted suicides are not reported; here are the facts. Almost 10% of teenagers have seriously considered attempting suicide, and 25% have experienced some form of online bullying. That does not include the 20% who have used some form of drugs prior to the age of 18, or the unknown number of those that have been sexually solicited online. Are parents who are discreetly monitoring their children’s online activity hackers?

Employers are increasingly monitoring their employees as well. While live GPS tracking may not be considered “intrusive” for a worker making deliveries, most cell phone monitors track much more. Chats, texts, phone calls and even photos and videos can all be sent to the employer in real-time.

These questions about ethical hacking fall into a grey area that make right and wrong fall under a blurry veil. Most would argue that there is no right and wrong when it comes to keeping our children safe and free from sexual predators, but where do you draw the line on employees, on suspicious spouses, or on your own electronic devices that are in the possession of other people.

Current versions of parental monitoring software are invisible, install remotely and report back without the child ever knowing they are being monitored. Some allow the parent to even log into the child’s phone and listen to its surroundings, and others allow the parent to see right through the devices built-in camera. Can this be considered “hacking” for a good cause? Could recent teen suicides have been prevented by parental “hacking”, and is it justified.

When multinational corporations who spend millions on a secure infrastructure cannot expect privacy – who can. Parents who invade their children’s privacy in a bid for safety are facing the same difficult choices as is the NSA. Ultimately the people will decide where the line is to be drawn; voluntarily through their votes, or in-voluntarily through the court system. The questions about privacy vs. security will be answered.

About RemoteKeyloggers.net:

Remote Keyloggers provides parental monitoring software to parents concerned with the online safety of their children. Providing discreet and non-discreet applications for monitoring underage children's online activity.

RemoteKeyloggers.net

Dave Grenier

719-247-5932

John Anderson

Source: EmailWire.Com

Source: EmailWire.com

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Hacking for a Good Cause