April 11, 2005
The best hackers?
Russia has at least one thing to brag about these days, according to CNET. As an official of Russia’s cybercrime police explained to the e-Crime Congress in London:
“Everyone knows that Russians are good at maths,” said Lieutenant General Boris Miroshnikov of the division known as Department K. “Our software writers are the best in the world, that's why our hackers are the best in the world.”
But as Mark Steckbeck observes, Miroshnikov missed the most important detail—that Russia’s economy is spectacularly inept at matching its most educated citizens with legitimate careers, often driving the best and brightest towards the worst and darkest.
Assuming that Russians don’t hack in their own backyard (I know, a stretch), Miroshnikov should be careful with his bragging rights. The most recent Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study puts two equally, uh, freewheeling economies (Latvia and Estonia) ahead of Russia in terms of math education. And in the 45th International Mathematical Olympiad, Russia was roundly beaten by China, a country that has spawned more than a few cybercriminals.
Moral: time to upgrade the firewalls in Volgograd.
Posted by Stephen at 7:52 PM in Science + technology | Permalink | TrackBack (0)
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