HUNTINGTON -- Recently, a group called the "chicagostreetsweepers" was able to sneak 10 different types of computer viruses past common anti-virus software in about six hours.

Don't be alarmed, though. The "chicagostreetsweepers" is not a futuristic crime unit bent on destroying your computer. Its members actually would like to protect it from harm.

Nick Harbour, a 1998 Huntington High School graduate, former Marshall University student and now principal consultant for computer security firm Mandiant, was one of the members of the winning hacking group.

The contest, DEFCON 16 Race to Zero, challenged security professionals to write viruses that could take advantage of current weaknesses in security software. The contest was part of the DEFCON 16 convention held in August in Las Vegas.

"The contests benefit the industry by proving things that we already know, like this one proved that signature-based virus detection is too easily bypassed through modification; it lets companies know what they need to change about their programs," Harbour said.

Harbour's team won the prestige and an electronic lock pick, a prize that he said was "pretty prestigious" among the geeky crowd at DEFCON.

"The four teams were given 10 malware samples and had to modify them to bypass virus protection and still work," Harbour said.

Harbour, though only 28 years old, has plenty of computer experience.

"Nick started programming when he was about 10 years old, he started out with Bulletin Board Systems," said Michael Harbour, Nick's father. "He had one called Crocodile PC. He wrote a program called 'The Rock' where people could leave notes, sort of like a precursor to forums."

Nick Harbour also worked with his father's former company, PC Doctors, as a computer technician for about a year.

"He is kind of how I got into the computer thing. When he was younger, he would hack into a part of the computer and I would have to fix it," said Michael Harbour.

Nick Harbour's team completed the DEFCON race in just over six hours; the fastest team managed completion in about two-and-a-half-hours. Nick Harbour's team came out on top when the viruses were tested and all 10 of his modified viruses eluded virus detection.

Nick Harbour did not know he was going to enter the Race to Zero contest when he attended the DEFCON 16 hacker conference in Las Vegas.

"It was kind of funny," Nick Harbour said. "We were just flipping through the program and saw a list of contests and thought this one looked interesting. Most of the other teams had prepared for weeks."

Nick Harbour was there to give a presentation, "Advanced Software Armoring and Polymorphic Kung Fu."

"That particular line of research is actually kind of evil. It makes a program very difficult to reverse engineer, but it can be used for good, like if a company does not want its program to be figured out," Nick Harbour said.

Nick Harbour said that he could still reverse engineer software that has been through his process, but it raises the bar.

Besides working with his father for a year, Nick Harbour also worked as a forensic examiner and researcher at the Department of Defense Computer Forensics Lab for four years before entering the private sector.

"I spent a lot of time just trying to figure out how hackers operate in the forensics program," Nick Harbour said.

Growing tired of computing and ready to try something new, Nick Harbour spent a little time doing something a tad bit outside of the computing field. He is also a trained chef who trained at the Johnson and Wales University.

"I went to culinary school because I got a little burned out on computing. I even sold all of my computers and went to school with a typewriter, but it just crept back into my blood."

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Photo courtesy of Mike Harbour

Nick Harbour, a 1998 Huntington High School graduate, former Marshall University student and now principal consultant for computer security firm Mandiant, was one of the members of the hacking group that won the Race to Zero at the DEFCON 16 convention in Las Vegas in August.

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