The government of Brazil is trying to do the right thing by creating an electronic system that monitors logging and only releases permits if quotas are not exceeded. These permits are checked as the logs leave the forests, and Brazil’s authorities are now even using weapons to guard the environment.

However, the logging companies have figured out a way around the law. They have hired a legion of hackers that generate phony permits so the companies can overharvest and get away with it. A Brazilian prosecutor announced that 107 Brazilian logging companies have hired hackers to screw with the system.

Around half of these companies have other lawsuits pending, whether it be for slave labor or other environmental crimes. A nice group of folks, huh?

Add to this recent riots when the government seized illegally harvested timber, and Brazil is in a battle to save the rainforests that is getting increasingly violent by the day.

Recruiting hackers in Brazil certainly should come as no shock, as Brazil has often been dubbed the world’s “hacking capital” as a long string of crime organizations have made their way by hacking banks around the world. Brazil is also home to a majority of the world’s child porn pages.

Story via Nate Anderson at Ars Technica

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