If you somehow needed further evidence after the run we’ve been on with WikiLeaks, Anonymous and LulzSec that security and hacking have invaded the mainstream consciousness, that evidence has arrived in the form of a philosophical question from none other than Kim Kardashian.
In a message to her more than eight million Twitter followers last night, Kardashian–who until now has not been known for her security thinking–asked the eternal and unanswerable question: Why do people hack?
Like most of us, Kardashian is apparently struggling with the answer. The easy response to the query, of course, is that people hack to make lots of money without a whole lot of effort. Wake up in the morning, pop a few boxes, steal some credit card numbers or some fighter plane plans and call it a day. That leaves a lot of time for hacky sack and Bitcoin mining.
But Kardashian doesn’t go for the easy answer. Actually, she doesn’t have an answer, which puts her in good company. Many people have posed the same question over the years and we still have no definitive answer. Diff’rent strokes for diff’rent folks. The conclusion that the reality TV star and famed entrepreneur comes to is essentially the same one that many longtime observers have come to after years of consideration.
“My moms AOL Account has been hacked. Why do people hack? So lame! So if anyone gets an email from my mom- NOT HER!,” Kardashian told her followers.
I think there are some lessons here for even the most embittered and cynical security folks. One, AOL still exists. And two, hackers apparently really are trying to steal *everything*. Even email accounts from 1997.
