Attrition.org 'double-edged sword'

The existence of sites such as attrition.org is a double-edged sword, according to New Zealand security specialist Co-Logic.

For two years Attrition.org ran a mirror offering copies of defaced websites. However it decided in late May to stop mirroring website defacements, because the hobby had become a "thankless chore".

Co-Logic managing director Arjen de Landgraaf, who runs a security alert service which in part relies on information from sites which record hacker activity, believes such sites do more good than harm.

“They perform a public service in that they raise awareness of the ease of hacking,” says de Landgraaf. The downside is that the attention they give to hackers helps foster competitiveness, spurring them to greater efforts.

De Landgraaf says it has been no great loss for Co-Logic that attrition.org has stopped mirroring website defacements, since sites like Alldas.de and Safemode.org perform the same monitoring role.

“Everything attrition.org did is duplicated by Alldas.de and Safemode.org, and they are actually a bit faster than attrition.org.”

Co-Logic provides a service, called E-secure-IT, based on aggregating security information from nearly 700 sources, providing it to subscribers who request alerts relevant to their particular systems.

De Landgraaf says a recent claim by hacker group World of Hell that it defaced 700 websites in a minute illustrates the magnitude of the security problem.