Headlines - Malware-writing becomes a competitive sport

[HEXUS]

Defcon 16 will feature a competition to defeat leading anti-virus suites starting with a common pool of viruses and malcode.

Read more.

[vinnyT]

Nothing new really, virus writers started writing code for kudos in the early days, just to show that they could do it.

It's only fairly recently that they have turned to producing malware for profit (either individually or having been recruited by mafia types.)

The hidhlight of defcon is when they identify the fbi/feds in the audience, usually good for a laugh.