7 Hackers Who Got Legit Jobs From Their Misdeeds
Thirteen years after “Hack Heaven,” Stephen Glass’ fabricated feature about a lonely teenage hacker who was hired by a major software company, was published, the story has practically come true.
On Sunday we reported that Facebook hired 21-year-old George “Geohot” Hotz, the famed PlayStation 3 hacker who spent four months this year duking it out with Sony in the courts. The two parties eventually settled and Hotz was forbidden from “unauthorized access” to another Sony product again—not that he will need one in his new role as a developer at the world’s largest social networking site. Evidently his hacks of Apple iPhones, iPod Touches, and the PS3 were merely resume fodder to his current employer.
While an argument can certainly be made for hiring black- and gray-hat hackers, Sophos security consultant Graham Cluely has been one enduring critic of the practice and has blogged in the past about the negative precedent it sets for aspiring young tech mavens, not to mention the resources required to undo their hacks.
