Michael Willburn

Dissecting the Ethical Hacker: a Guide for the Wine'n Cheese Crowd (A.k.a. Suits & Technology Executives) Michael Willburn

Publisher Marketing: Forget about Anonymous, cyber criminals or the APT! The biggest threat to the security of your organization is your own security program. Organizations like SANs, Black Hat, Offensive Security, DefCon and others are churning out highly skilled Ethical Hackers by the hundreds. Each one of these little fellas and fellettes is taking their newly found hacking skills back to your organization where they gather together like hungry wolves; red-eyes glowing wildly, they chase your innocent systems through your data center like frightened little rabbits. Too frequently this wild pack of Ethical Hackers adds little real value to the never ending process of securing your organization. Now, this is not because they lack the skills; quite the contrary, they have plenty of very impressive technical skills and an entire new language to boot. No, they are not adding value simply because the poor sod (i.e. you) that has to manage these beasts and make business decisions based on their work is not quite sure how to use them effectively. This new breed of Techie needs leadership, needs guidance, needs perspective and sometimes they even need to be taken behind the woodshed for a good old-fashioned talking-to. Too many organizations under use their Ethical Hackers, simply validating compliance rather than adding real value to the security of their organizations. Dissecting the Ethical Hacker breaks down this new breed of technologist to help technology and business leaders better understand these creatures. It also serves as a sort of self-help guide for those in the business of ethical hacking. So pour yourself a glass of wine, grab a slice of cheese and lean comfortably back in your plush leather chair while I reveal all.