Two Spanish security experts are inviting computer buffs to participate in a competition to deface a Web site on a production server.
This isn't the first time a group of security professionals has challenged people to hack computer systems, nor will it be the last. What's unusual about this contest, even if it's not unique, is the target: a production server running Microsoft's Windows 2000 operating system and chock-full with other software, including Microsoft's Outlook Web Access, Firewall-1 NG from Check Point Software Technologies, Apache 2.0 from the Apache Software Foundation, and WebTrends Log Analyzer from NetIQ.
The Web site, which also serves as the name of the competition, is InfoHacking.com. The competition is being staged by Hugo V
With the competition, Caram
Learning Experience
"We want to show that with knowledge and imagination, you can keep out 99.9 percent of hackers," Caram
So far, no one has, which isn't a huge surprise, considering the competition just began October 1 with no previous promotion. But Caram
It's not the prize--a used Alpha Station 400 from the former Digital Equipment Corporation--but the "fun and fame" of hacking the system and "having the hack published everywhere" that will attract people to the competition, Caram
Caram