I believe that it is valid to hire a former convicted cracker as a security consultant, however, I think the cracker's motivation should be considered. Some crackers ply their craft not for financial gain, but out of sheer technical interest. These type of crackers are the ones that discover the security holes; They're the type of crackers that would make good consultants, and I believe could be trusted. The ones that should be avoided are those that have cracked systems purely for financial gain, likely drawing on publicized hacks - not so much talent, rather exploiting the discoveries of others.

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