No convicted hacker has yet to apply to have their

civil rights restored. Abene is a prime candidate

for this. I suggest he hire a savvy lawyer, get his

civil rights restored, and then the conviction essentially never happened, and CANNOT be used as an excuse not

to hire him. Nuff said. ALL that is required to do

this is to wait 5 years from the date of conviction.

Restoration of civil rights is not always automatic,

or easy, but clearly he could pass as he has no second arrest, which is the prime thing considered in a judge's

decision. It would allow him to vote, get a passport,

be around firearms (which requires a second, special

restoration of rights) and yes, get those coveted

security clearances. ANY convicted hackers who HAS

TRULY reformed (and I can count those on one hand) IS

eligible, and if Abene wants to truly change his

past this is the route to take, and will do something

for the hacking community as he would then set

legal precedent for future hackers who apply.

Abene has no one but himself to blame for not

thinking of this earlier, or pursuing it, since

clearly he has been eligible for awhile now.

And, quite frankly, I would not hire a convicted

hacker who isn't aware of this option and has

not pursued it because at the very least I would

assume they must still be active, and scared, to

not pursue it. When you get your civil rights

restored, Phiber, you owe me a public thank you

for the idea :) Any company that refused to hire

you after your civil rights were restored is

vulnerable to a discrimination lawsuit and you

could end up with more money NOT working for them

than working for them. If I were you, I would

sue @stake now, for the publicity if nothing else,

but you did good to come forward and save others

the hassles of applying. BTW, throw ISS in as

another security company who has had dirty

hackers on board (one of whom hacked the Greenpeace

web page while employed there) and who has convicted

hackers on board but looks the other way and won't

hire any new ones while protecting Fusion who they do employ.

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Link to this comment: http://www.securityfocus.com/comments/articles/79/3221#3221