http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/uncomp/articleshow?artid=43502897 TIMES NEWS NETWORK APRIL 15, 2003 AHMEDABAD: If a teenager decides to lecture experienced information technology (IT) professionals on internet security, he is considered either too arrogant or ill-informed. But when a 17-year-old Gujarati boy from New Delhi, Ankit Fadia, speaks at a special seminar in Ahmedabad on Wednesday, there will be many well-known names from the industry in the audience to listen to him. Members of the Gujarat Electronics & Software Industries Association, the Computer Society of India and students are expected to attend the seminar. Ankit may have given his standard XII board exams only recently, but is already considered an expert on Net security issues, especially hacking. And for those who think he is just another 'hack', here is a reality check. Ankit has already published some books on the subject and was named person of the year by the Limca Book of Records last year. Those in the IT security industry know Ankit quite well, but for those who don't, he is a Gujarati, was born in Ahmedabad but grew up in New Delhi. Fascinated by the internet, like most youngsters of his age are, he soon found out about hacking. "First, it was the forbidden fruit syndrome," he says. "Because it was forbidden, I wanted to do it, but soon found out that that we Indians have no school to learn about security issues. I picked up most of my initial knowledge from books." "It's pathetic," the teenager says while speaking on the level of awareness regarding internet security in the country. "Professionals are aware of the dangers in cities like Bangalore, Hyderabad and Pune, but you can't say the same for the rest of the country." According to Ankit, the threat can be perceived from the fact that at least 50 Indian websites are defaced by Pakistani hackers every month. In return, Indians hack a paltry 10. We have software experts and Pakistanis have security experts. We are good at creating software and they are good at hacking them." According to Ankit, almost all government websites have been hacked and websites of well-known private companies have not been spared. "I even identified two of the hackers in Pakistan down to their street address and passed on the information to the CBI, but I am not sure if they have been able to make any headway." But there is a mysterious side to Fadia as well. He claims that in November 2001, he was consulted by a classified intelligence agency for breaking an encrypted message believed to have been sent by one of Osama Bin Laden's men. He was able to break it. "One can only expect hacking to increase in the coming months. Our lives will be increasingly dependent on the Net giving hackers more reason to disrupt our lives." - ISN is currently hosted by Attrition.org To unsubscribe email majordomoat_private with 'unsubscribe isn' in the BODY of the mail.
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