The Way of the Blackhat
As we all know (I hope), technology evolves rapidly, even more since the last decade. This means that new hardware and software are implemented in mainstream computers (the computer of your average Joe) every few years. One thing most hardware makers make sure of when releasing a new product on the market is guaranteed product's stability.
In order to make a hardware piece stable (safe from crashes/destruction) good software must back it up. Hardware does not go without software and vice versa. This is an obvious fact, but it's at the core of machine hacking. To keep up with software advances is a very hefty task. It is so, because most archives of software updates on the Internet aren't well organized and most companies publish limited information on their releases.
The Way of the Blackhat
Another reason behind this is the fact that there are a lot of developers out there. A LOT of them. As far as I know, there aren't any statistics out there on the subject, but I'd say the ratio of software developers to hardware developers is 1000:1 (probably even more – I wouldn‟t be surprised). Now, the reason behind software developers being more popular is a social tendency.
All this to say that the trick in keeping up with technological evolution is to follow the hardware evolution. Companies provide full information about their updates to existing hardware, new releases, etc. There is no reason in keeping it a secret because reverse engineering exists and it can provide all the details of a new piece of hardware. You might say “Reverse engineering exists for software as well!”. That's very true, but it doesn't get you very far.
By reading about new hardware development, you also are referred to associated software development. Archives usually link software updates (called firmware updates when they are implemented in hardware directly) to their released products. This makes it easy for you to be up to date with the new „security‟ measures. Let's take the popular routers made by Linksys as an example. These come in play when trying to hack your neighbors wireless network key (WEP/WPA).
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