While this knowledge could easily have led a younger Chappell down the path to what she refers to as the "dark side", or malicious computer hacking (known as cracking), she chose to pursue a different career. Decades later, she has moved on from Novell and established a career as an expert and consultant in protocol analysis, a segment of network security.. . .
While this knowledge could easily have led a younger Chappell down the path to what she refers to as the "dark side", or malicious computer hacking (known as cracking), she chose to pursue a different career. Decades later, she has moved on from Novell and established a career as an expert and consultant in protocol analysis, a segment of network security. Courted by organisations such as Cisco, Novell, IBM, as well as the FBI, Chappell has made a name for herself in an arena she enjoys.

And while, as she says, "there is no such thing as a secure network, or a secure operating system", Chappell is doing her best to make sure the organisations she works with are able to protect themselves from vulnerabilities and attacks.

ZDNet Australia spoke with Laura Chappell about cyber threats for 2002, how script kiddies and junior hackers can bring down your network, why there is safety in grey hair, and how to train hackers without losing them to the "dark side".

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