Hackers set up 24-hour clubhouse

Place for white hackers to share ideas and brainstorm projects

HACKERS in Singapore are being given the chance to come out of the shadows and hang out with like- minded people in a clubhouse of sorts, where they can sharpen their skills and think up innovative projects.

Home for the clubhouse, to be called Hackerspace SG, will be in a 1,100 sq ft shophouse at 70A Bussorah Street. It will be open round the clock.

The project is being spearheaded by four people who hope the hacker community can get together to implement ideas or come up with projects, and perhaps commercialise them.

The four are graphic designer Wong Meng Weng, 33; Web developer Chua Ruiwen, 26; IT consultant Justin Lee, 27; and programmer Luther Goh, 26.

The quartet came up with the idea of Hackerspace after reading about similar centres that have opened up around the world, including the United States, China and Japan.

Hackers are known the world over for their superior skills when it comes to technology. But to many, they are known only for carrying out illegal activities, like credit card fraud and creating malicious computer programs that wreak havoc.

These individuals are called black hackers.

But Mr Chua is keen to raise awareness of so-called white hackers.

“A hacker is someone who experiments and pushes the boundaries to create new things. It does not necessarily mean a cyber criminal,” he said.

The team cited an example of the MakerBot, a system of 3D printers that lays down layers of materials like plastic to form objects such as toys.

The system, which has now been commercialised, was invented by geeks operating out of a Hackerspace in New York City.

Many companies prize the computer skills of hackers, and are keen to hire them for jobs ranging from IT security to consultants.

In fact, Singapore Polytechnic is now giving all third-year Infocomm Security Management students the option of learning ethical hacking so they will have the skills required to fill this need.

For Mr Wong, the leader of the group, Hackerspace will be a spot where hackers and other geeks can congregate, exchange ideas and come up with cool applications – all legal, of course.

He said: “The usual office culture does not foster innovation.

“Our schools create workers, not innovators, and a lot of offices smack of the 9 to 5 mentality, which does not help people innovate.”

He added that he sees the new clubhouse as a “combination of living room, science lab, and shared office space for the geek community”.

Eventually, he hopes, a community of experienced, passionate hackers will be formed, and they can pass on the tricks of the trade to others who may be interested.

So far, 24 people have signed up to join. They pay membership fees ranging from $32 to $512 a month – the more you pay, the more benefits you get, such as a fully equipped workspace.

The fees go towards paying the rent on the shophouse and other expenses.

One member is Mr Tamas Herman, 32, a systems administrator and programmer.

He said he joined to experiment with hacking and get new ideas. He also hopes to find new ways to fix security holes, encrypt data and set up defences against black hackers.

Hackerspace SG’s founders are confident many others will come on board soon, as the tech community is tightly knit and word has already spread.

They are also in talks with Yahoo! Singapore for corporate sponsorship.

When asked if they have a target membership base, Mr Lee pointed to Hackerspace Germany, the oldest and largest such group, which has 700 members.

“It could happen if we’re here long enough. It also depends on how the community wants to go.”

But, he added: “We don’t want to just grow numbers, the quality and innovation of the work produced are also important.”