Hackers offered $50,000 to crack 'Fort Knox' security

A computer security firm is challenging hackers to crack its 'Fort Knox' system in a $50,000 competition.

OpenHack III, a contest sponsored by eWeek magazine, features Argus Systems Group, maker of a computer security product called PitBull, The company claims it is virtually impenetrable.

In the other is an army of hackers who are trying to break into a PitBull-protected system and win a $50,000 prize, supplied by Argus.

Hacking contests have been going on since the mid-1980s, but Argus has raised the stakes this time in an effort to validate a product it believes is the Fort Knox of computer security.

Hackers generally try to access computer operating systems by exploiting holes in the applications the systems run, and most security products try to plug those holes.

But PitBull protects the operating systems themselves, making it virtually impossible for a hacker to gain access.

In the contest, hackers will have two weeks to complete four tasks related to corrupting a web site protected by PitBull. There are prizes for being the first to complete each task, and a grand prize of $50,000 for being the first to complete all four.

Argus thought of giving a car away, but realised from past hacking contests that participants aren't always old enough to drive.

In two previous eWeek contests, sites were successfully hacked. But in recent contests in Las Vegas and Munich, Germany, hackers failed to break into Argus-protected systems.

Argus hopes the contest will prove the worth of its product. But many in the computer security community think hacking competitions prove little because the cleverest, most dangerous hackers stay away or are reluctant to reveal their secrets - a requirement to claim the prize.