Crooks Hook Clueless Hackers 
   ----------------------------
   by Joel Deane

   Digital  criminals  and  foreign spies are tricking "clueless" hackers
   into  giving  away  vital security codes that can be used for theft or
   espionage, warns a network security expert.

   Speaking  at  the Def Con Five hacker convention in Las Vegas over the
   weekend,  Ira  Winkler  said hacker bulletin boards and chat rooms are
   riddled with such "clueless" hackers-- and criminals.

   Winkler,  formerly  of  the  National  Security  Agency  and  National
   Computer  Security Association and author of Corporate Espionage, said
   he  knew  of at least one occasion when a criminal associated with the
   Russian Mafia duped a hacker into giving him a bank's security code by
   calling  the  hacker a "lamer." To prove he wasn't a lamer, the hacker
   gave  away the security code, which the criminal used in an attempt to
   electronically rob the bank. "These clueless hackers are the people we
   really have to worry about," he said.

   Winkler  estimates  there  are 50,000 "clueless" hackers "who can't do
   anything if they don't have a script" in the United States.

   More  than  1,000 people-- including network security experts, hackers
   and  FBI  agents-- attended Def Con Five at the Aladdin Hotel. Def Con
   organizer Jeff Moss said it was the biggest hacker convention ever.

  Missing hacker

   In  other news, a teenage hacker who planned to attend Def Con Five is
   missing. John Sieh, 16, of Iowa, has been missing since June 30.

   Sieh's  mother,  Susan,  said  her  husband, Greg, flew to Def Con and
   handed  out  fliers  in  an  attempt to locate his son, who spends "24
   hours  a  day  almost" on his computer. According to Susan, Sieh, also
   known  as  "Symbiont"  or  "Taligent"  has  not  accessed his computer
   account since going missing with the family's 1986 Cadillac Seville.

   "We don't know what to think," she said.

   For more on Def Con Five, log onto The Site Tuesday, July 22 and click
   on The Spin.

   If you have comments, send them to joel_deane@zd.com