ITinfo: Open Hack III - Grand Prize $50,000

50 G's To The Winner

Young hackers take a bite out of PitBull

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Open Hack III - Grand Prize $50,000

by Dave Murphy
ISSN 1535-3613

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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References

Open Hack III
eWeek
Argus Systems Group
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updated January 16, 2001
http://dgl.com/itinfo/2001/it010116.html