[link|http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20020731/ap_on_hi_te/computer_security_2|At a Black Hat conference, of all places]

Excerpt:

LAS VEGAS (AP) - A presidential advisor encouraged the nation's top computer security professionals and hackers Wednesday to try to break computer programs, but said they might need protection from the legal wrath of software makers.

Richard Clarke, President Bush ( news - web sites)'s computer security advisor, told hackers at the Black Hat conference that most security holes in software are not found by the software maker.

"Some of us, here in this room, have an obligation to find the vulnerabilities," Clarke said.

Clarke said the hackers should be responsible about reporting the programming mistakes. A hacker should contact the software maker first, he said, then go to the government if the software maker doesn't respond soon.