Hackman, our new platform for making people aware of internet security issues, is proving to be a big hit. Since mid-May, an audience of more than half a million has watched Hackman (a.k.a. Rickey Gevers) successfully hack Dutch celebrity Lieke van Lexmond. Various news outlets have picked up the story.
Hackman hacks Lieke van Lexmond
Hackman campaign launched to raise awareness of on-line security
Showing people how vulnerable they are
Hackman is a low-threshold concept through which we're working to raise awareness of internet security issues. The basic idea is that Hackman (Rickey Gevers) shows Dutch celebrities just how vulnerable they are on line. Via Facebook, the public gets to decide what Gevers should hack next.
The weaknesses in Lieke’s security were brilliantly revealed as Gevers took control of her phone, used her security camera to snoop on her living room, and stole her credit card details. More than half a million people watched videos of the three hacks on social media and hackman.nl. As well as deciding what Hackman should go after, viewers had the option of volunteering for a 'live hack' to find out whether they needed to review their own security. A video of the first live hack on 21 June is available on our Facebook page. On hackman.nl, you can also check how up-to-date your security is. More than 25,000 people have already done the test.
Raising awareness
With Hackman, we want to make people in the Netherlands aware of the risks associated with using the internet if you don't have good security. The internet is developing very quickly, with new things becoming possible all the time. It's therefore really important that quality, security and privacy are assured. And that's what we are working to achieve.
Follow-up
Lots more Hackman initiatives are set to follow. We'll be working out the details once the campaign with Lieke ends in the summer.
