Ankit Fadia
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Ankit Fadia is an Indian computer security expert. He is the author of several books on computer security, the youngest author in the the history of publisher Macmillan India, and an alleged consultant to intelligence and law enforcement agencies.[1]
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[edit] Controversy
[edit] Authenticity of claims
According to Wendy McAuliffe at ZDNet UK, Fadia's Hacking Truths website was judged "second best hacking site" by the FBI, though no ranked list of "hacking sites" has been published by the FBI.[2]
In 2006, Chennai Online reported that Fadia's consulting clients included several of the largest technology and financial services companies in the world. No other source corroborates that report; were it true, Fadia's client list would exceed that of many of the largest independent security consultancies. The same article reported Fadia's involvement in decrypting a message from an Al Qaeda operative; no other source corroborates that claim, nor does any of Fadia's published work involve cryptography or cryptanalysis.[3]
[edit] Publicity
Book reviews and comments on popular hacker websites fault Fadia for the degree of publicity he has obtained, relative to the value of the information in his books and his contributions to the state of the art. Fadia has obtained an atypical amount of press attention, most of it in his native India, relative to most published authors in the computer security field. Further exacerbating criticism is that much of that attention has revolved around extraordinary claims involving exploits in counterintelligence and technology.[4][5]
News coverage of Fadia has tended to focus on his age (he was a teenager when most of the stories were written), the novelty of the concept of an "ethical hacker", and the local interest of a native Indian consulting for United States Intelligence and Law Enforcement services. Fadia has received virtually no press coverage in the United States, despite his extraordinary claims.[6][7][8]
[edit] Ethics
In December 2007, Indian Paper Mail Today accused Fadia of irresponsible conduct at a security seminar for youths in New Delhi. The article alleged that Fadia taught youngsters how to use easily downloadable tools to disrupt computers and forge email, without providing enough ethical context or warnings about the consequences of using those tools. [9]
[edit] Recognition
According to Indian newspaper Central Chronicle, Fadia earned the IT Leader Award and the Indo-American Society Young Achiever Award in 2005. In 2002, the Limca Book of Records declared him among the "People of The Year". [10][11]
[edit] Publications
- Fadia, Ankit. Network Security: A Hacker's Perspective, Course Technology PTR, 2006. ISBN 1598631632.
- Fadia, Ankit. The Unofficial Guide to Ethical Hacking, Course Technology PTR, 2002. ISBN 1931841721.
- Fadia, Ankit. Hacking Mobile Phones, Course Technology PTR, 2005. ISBN 1598631063.
- Fadia, Ankit. Intrusion Alert: An Ethical Hacking Guide to Intrusion Detection, Course Technology PTR, 2007. ISBN 1598634143.
[edit] References
- ^ Stanford.Who search result: ankit fadia. Retrieved on 2006-12-06.
- ^ Wendy McAuliffe (2001-08-07). Schoolboy's book on ethical hacking an online hit. ZDNet, UK. Retrieved on 2006-07-12.
- ^ "Ankit Fadia's new books", Chennai Online, 2006-01-27. Retrieved on 2006-08-19.
- ^ Security Scene Errata - Charlatans.
- ^ Irish. Ankit Fadia Interview.
- ^ "Fighting fire with fire", Computer Times, 2003-08-06. Retrieved on 2006-07-11.
- ^ Suelette Dreyfus (2003-08-05). Hacktivism through the eyes of an infiltrator. Retrieved on 2006-07-11.
- ^ "Cracking hacking", The Hindu, 2003-01-28. Retrieved on 2006-08-19.
- ^ "Ethical Hacker turn dangerously unethical at seminar", Mail Today, 2007-12-05. Retrieved on 2007-12-05.
- ^ Workshop on Hacking at MANIT. Central Chronicle (2006-01-21). Retrieved on 2006-12-19.
- ^ "E2 labs to combat cyber crime in Hyderabad", The Hindu Business Line, 2003-04-19. Retrieved on 2006-12-19.
