It's been seven years since a Montreal teenager known only as Mafiaboy hacked into computers the world over by exploiting chinks in the security systems of major companies and universities, including Yahoo, Yale and CNN.
Now a Swiss company claims it can slow such activity by doing for hackers what eBay did for collectors of decorative spoons: create a marketplace for the sale of software vulnerabilities to the highest bidder.
The idea behind < href="">WabiSabiLabi.com is to offer hackers a legitimate venue to peddle their wares rather than enabling them to profit by selling their finds to cyber-criminals. Launched last week, the site is already accepting bids on four exploitable flaws, including one in Yahoo Messenger, for a minimum of €2,000 ($2,860).
But the site has raised concerns among computer security watchdogs about whether the company has simply created a loophole for an industry that they say thrives on extortion.
"This is a little, mini arms bazaar," said Jesse Krembs, a director at the Hacker Foundation, a California-based non-profit research outfit. "Essentially what you're doing is weaponizing hackers by making it more profitable for them to break into things."
WabiSabiLabi, whose name is derived from a Japanese phrase for "imperfect and incomplete," claims it ensures the authenticity of its sellers and buyers by verifying their identification using passport information, telephone records and banking data.
Company executives concede that criminals may get their hands on the bugs through the website, but insist its auction platform is a more legitimate alternative to the booming black market that already exists for software glitches.
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