Early reports that Facebook had hired 21 year old computer hacker ‘GeoHot’ were confirmed by the Wall Street Journal on 28th June 2011. Geohot (real name George Hortz) has already joined the social networking giant although his exact role remains shrouded in secrecy.
So what makes a global brand like Facebook court controversy by offering such an infamous individual a job?
The answer is simple - talent. Whatever else, Hortz is a brilliant programmer. He is credited with unlocking the iPhone so it can work on any mobile network, and most recently was sued by Sony for ‘jailbreaking’ the PlayStation 3 games console. The case was later settled out of court.