COMMENT Over the past few days, there has been much fuss about the emergence of a new website which ranks hackers.
It's nothing new, of course. In a special report on web graffiti artists last year, IT Pro used plenty of info from Zone-H.org, a website with league tables for defacements.
There are a numerous other places on the web where hackers compete with one another, although the man or woman behind RankMyHack.com believes their site brings a little more to the table than the average offering.
"Welcome to RankMyHack.Com. The worlds [sic] first elite hacker ranking system," a blurb on the site read.
"Submit proof of your website hacks in exchange for Ranking Points that earn you a place on the leaderboard of legends. The bigger the site, the bigger the points. Then use your points to duel with other hackers and protect your legacy in one on one digital combat."
We had a poke around the site to find out whether businesses should worry about the site and the activities it seeks to inspire.
A test drive kind of
From the outset it looks the part a Matrix inspired theme running throughout the site, green text on black background.
It's also easy to get around the site, with a perfectly usable nav bar. Options include Leader Board, Hacks, Bounties, Resources, Duels, Submit Hack and War Room.
The Resources section would be pretty useful to any hacker, whether a novice or an experienced pro. There are links to a number of typical hacking tools like Metasploit, as well as tutorials, such as how to carry out an SQL injection attack.
However, the site is far from flawless. Having tried to gain a login (for non-malicious purposes, of course), nothing had entered my inbox after half a day of waiting. So it's not that quick to join up and get your name in the league tables.
This lack of a login also prevented me from entering the titillating Duels and War Room sections of the site, which left me feeling a tad blue. The Duels section, where hackers can try and besmirch one another whilst adding to their own reputation, has proven a big hit, according to the website's owner. Not with us.
It also left us locked out of the Bounties section, designed to inspire hacks of a political nature, according to the 'about' section of the site.
Furthermore, what seemed like a handy little addition a search tool to find out how much a site would be worth in terms of hack points failed to work. Type in a site, say itpro.co.uk, and it redirects the user to a different landing page that fails to show the information requested.
