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1. Tinker ☀️ (tinker@infosec.exchange)'s status on Monday, 30-Jan-2023 04:29:26 JST Tinker ☀️

   Thus did I read in an IRC chatroom:

   A 1337 hacker and her apprentice were screensharing during a guided hack. The new hacker asked of his teacher, "How do I become root?"

   The 1337 sage instructed her student, "Run 'su'."

   The student ran 'su' and, when prompted, entered the root password. But as the young hacker did not know the root password, the command failed.

   "I am not root," the student lamented.

   The 1337 sage then instructed her student, "Run 'sudo su'."

   The student did so, but instead of entering the root password as required by 'su' he entered his own password as required by 'sudo'.

   The command succeeded.

   Encouraged, the young hacker inquired 'whoami' and stdout responded with: "root".

   The 1337 hacker smiled at her student and reminded him, "For it was not until you realized that you were already root, that you became root."

   #hackerKoan #hacking #buddhism

   • Nick (nlarson830@techhub.social)'s status on Monday, 30-Jan-2023 04:29:25 JST Nick

     in reply to

     @tinker

     Do I need to have knowledge of the actual content to get the moral of the story?

     Adrian Cochrane repeated this.
   • Tinker ☀️ (tinker@infosec.exchange)'s status on Monday, 30-Jan-2023 04:29:25 JST Tinker ☀️

     in reply to

     • Nick

     @nlarson830 - I don't think so.

     To be root, in this sense, is to have complete control and awareness of your own system. In addition to complete control and awareness, if any of your own actions cause you suffering, it is your responsibility alone, as you were the one to run the commands at root level. (note: this self imposed suffering is distinct and different from suffering imposed externally, such as via a ransomeware worm).

     The corollary of this koan to one's life is that we have within us, already, the buddhahood. Instead of seeking to become awakened, we realize that we are already awake and just need to be aware of that state. And so it's by understanding the tools we already have and seeking to be mindful of who we are as we are, that we shed the fog and see that we are awake.