Stealthy hacker dons a white hat

The Globe and Mail – Business Section
July 1st, 1999 – 1450 words
Brad Grier – in Calgary

Brian Lynch looked like any other executive as he flew to his next business meeting, typing notes on his laptop and finishing off yet another memo.

But the papers in the clean-cut young man’s carry-on told a different story. The bag contained a printout of 10,000 valid credit card numbers, taken after a successful security penetration of a computer system.

Brian is a hacker. A White Hat hacker to be precise. A professional computer security specialist working for ‘the forces of good’.

PHOSPHOR PEDOPHILES (The New Evil of the Electronic Age)

The Globe & Mail – Technology
November 1999 – 2080 words
“Do you want to see some pictures? Some fun and naughty ones?”. Before Patty73 could reply, another line appeared; “Erin19 is a 19/f looking for some cute young girls to trade self-nudes and more…Msg Me”. Then another ” GOTO http://pornsex011alpha.com for 100% free porn, no age check”

Line after line of cryptic text similar to what you’d find in the personal section of a tawdry tabloid appeared on Patty73’s screen. Scrolling upward on the monitor, multi-line advertisements for porn Websites, FTP servers, and Fservs were constantly appearing, and being replaced by yet another appeal; “The first 100% FREE PORN SITE with never before seen Pamela Anderson pics!…Sex stories, Live video stream, 100% free!…All you would ever need to get off!!…NO credit card checks and/or age verifications…”

In a quiet room in downtown Edmonton, Patty73 stares at the console; face bathed in the soft glow from the screen and not really surprised by the passionate messages from people who specialize in collecting and distributing child pornography.

A Working Vacation?

National Post Vacation Article
May 8th, 2003
Brad Grier

Breath deeply. Savour. That wonderful scent on the breeze is the smell of Holiday Season “ the period of time between the May and September long weekends when colleagues and co-workers juggle schedules, meetings and workflow to ensure that come Thursday afternoon the work week is over and the reward of a long summer weekend lies ahead.

Or does it? This summer, more than ever before, many Canadians feel it’s no longer an option to completely disconnect from the workplace while on vacation. Projects continue, clients need updates, and issues arise.

This begs the question; do you really need to stay connected to the office? Perhaps. For many people, keeping in touch with the workplace offers them a greater sense of comfort, enabling them to relax and enjoy their vacation more, rather than worrying about projects back at the office.
There are new tools that can make working on vacation less painful. Workers have the option to effectively participate in critical meetings or collaboratively revise that marketing plan from the comfort of an Adirondack chair on the deck, rather than miss the meeting, or have commute in to the office.