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BY MALLORY PERRYMAN
You're watching multisource tech video news analysis from Newsy.
Hacker-- turned insider.
George Hotz -known online as Geohot- pioneered iPhone jailbreaking.
Sony sued him for hijacking the Playstation 3.
And now?
He works for Facebook.
What’s he doing there? ZDnet reports...
“Speculation is already running rampant that he is involved in Project Spartan, Facebook’s rumored HTML5 platform that will take on Apple’s App Store.”
But according to the Washington Post... Hotz “is believed to be working on Facebook’s anticipated iPad app.”
Geohot’s new gig has refreshed a favorite tech topic that some bill as a trend.
PC Magazine ran with this storyline:
“7 Hackers who got legit jobs from their misdeeds”
And you’ll find a similar article on PC World:
“Hackers gone mild- 6 rebels turned insiders”
Tech Republic’s Deb Shiner says, there are pro’s and con’s to signing the enemy to the payroll, saying, while some believe it takes one to catch one...
“The possible ramifications of having a covert hacker on the ‘inside’ of your network range from serious to devastating. What if your hacker hasn’t reformed at all, but has merely learned to play the game in a more sophisticated way?”
But The Wall Street Journal points out-- Hotz hasn’t exactly used his skills for evil. In fact- he’s got the kind of talent Facebook likes.
“The term hacking...was originally associated with tinkering and experimentation—a tradition that Facebook encourages. The company also regularly holds all-night sessions that it calls ‘hackathons,’ encouraging engineers to build code and build new products.
Sony recently won a restraining order against Hotz- to keep him from publishing secret codes that would allow users to play pirated games on the PS3.
Transcript by Newsy.
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