Hackers sought as allies in war on terrorism and cyber crime

0 Comments | AFP, August, 2007

LAS VEGAS (AFP) — US federal agents are reaching out to computer hackers for help fighting crime and terrorism as a tug-of-war between privacy and public safety continues on the Internet.

The National Security Agency (NSA), the Department of Defense and the FBI were among the spy, military and police agencies represented at DefCon, an international gathering of hackers in Las Vegas.

Hackers and computer security professionals made up the bulk of the more than 6,000 people that took part in the three-day conference which ended Sunday, according to founder Jeff "Dark Tangent" Moss.

Games, contests and seminars at DefCon are devoted to breaching computers, Internet websites, software programs and real-world locks.

Throughout the event money is raised...