WSJ.com – Software Giants Seek Friends Among Hackers
LAS VEGAS — Not long ago, HD Moore was a thorn in the side of Microsoft Corp. Mr. Moore finds flaws in computer software and posts programs on his Web site that help researchers — and hackers — exploit them. For years, Microsoft kept him at arm’s length.
But at this week’s Black Hat conference in Las Vegas, an annual powwow where hackers and other “security researchers” share their work, Microsoft plans to wine and dine Mr. Moore at a party at the fancy Palms Hotel. A Microsoft security executive wants to meet with him to discuss his latest work. And earlier this year, the Redmond, Wash., company invited him to speak at a Microsoft-sponsored conference on security.
“There were a few tense silences,” says Mr. Moore, 24 years old, who lives in Austin, Texas. But he says the meetings put a human face on a company he once saw as impenetrable. “You’re less willing to publicly humiliate someone you know in real life,” he says.
Microsoft, Cisco Systems Inc., Oracle Corp. and other tech giants are engaging in a full charm offensive here as they seek to convince security researchers to work with, not against, them. In particular, the companies want “white hat” hackers like Mr. Moore to disclose the software flaws they find to the software makers first, so they have a chance to fix them before revealing them more widely. [Read on]