Spy
on
Spy
BY RUSS BANHAM
In the murky underground
forums of the darknet,
thousands of hackers trade
secrets, discuss new forms
of malware, and boast
about recent attacks. Back
when those logging in to
the forums were primarily a
bunch of computer geeks,
it probably had the feel of
a harmless secret society.
Then came the bad guys.
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ILLUSTRATIONS BY KEITH NEGLEY
Inside the darknet, a team
of cybersecurity experts—the
good guys—are hacking
the hackers.
Criminal enterprises, terrorist organizations,
and nation-states with malicious aims changed
the nature of these underground forums, turning
the “Gotcha!” game of hacking into a serious
enterprise with devastating consequences.
Listening in on what is known as the darknet’s
hacker chatter is now the life or death stuff of
governments and businesses.
The problem is getting an invite. Not just anyone
can log on to the darknet—an encrypted network
built on top of the existing internet—and participate
in hacker forums. Only vetted hackers can
apply to learn the latest about hacking techniques,
as well as emerging and growing threats.
Enter the white hat hackers—the good guys—
who have been able to find their way into these