FREE ESSAY ON HACKERS, NOT SLACKERS

HACKERS, NOT SLACKERS

Hackers, Not Slackers
Since the introduction of personal computers in the 1970's, the art of computer hacking
has grown along with changing roles of computers in society. Computers have taken over
our lives. People could not function without them; our electricity is run by computers,
the government could not function without computers, and there are many others. Hackers
are people who illegally gain access to, and sometimes tamper with, information in a
computer system. Due to recent media coverage and corporate interest, hackers activities
are now looked down on by society as criminal. Despite the growing trend of hacking, very
little research has been done on the hacking world and its culture. The image of a
computer hacker has grown from a harmless nerd into a vicious techno-criminal. In reality
most hackers are not out to destroy the world.
The hackers in today's society are not bored teenagers. In Hackers intensify fears of
industrial espionage, Mark Gembicki reports the typical hacker used to be 14 to 16 years
of age, white male, somewhat of an introvert . . . However, this is no longer the case. .
. Our hacker profile . . . [is that] the hackers are around 30-33, white male again,
professional (Drumheller). Many of the hacker's today are probably the grown-up fourteen
to sixteen years old from the past. Except now they make enough money to purchase
expensive computer equipment. They are well educated and have an interest in technology.
The majority of the hackers of today are thirty years old and well educated, they are not
all out to destroy computer systems and break into national security. 
Hackers have always been considered different and have never been accepted in society.
Many hackers will not admit they are a part of this underground community for fear of how
they will be judged. In U.S. News & World Report, Brendan Koerner explained how . . .
true hackers are interested not in destruction, but in technology, and that they
circumvent security only to help improve it. There have been stories about hackers
breaking into a site and then leaving tips on how to improve the site with and e-mail
address attached. The true hackers do not wish to be associated with the bad hackers,
also known as crackers. Hackers feel like they are misunderstood by the majority of the
world. They are left out like many other minority groups. Some hackers might turn to evil
means because they are so misunderstood. They become malicious and then pose a threat to
security. Although hacking is a growing trend in our society, it is not one that is
accepted in the United States or any other country for that matter. Hacking is an
international phenomenon that cuts across race, gender, ethnic background, sex, and
education level. 
Hacking is considered illegal everywhere in the world. Many governments are posed with
the threat of national security being broken into by the bad hackers. The bad hackers can
be dangerous, they may gain access to classified information. Patricia Irving, president
of a small business which creates biological and chemical defense technology, says 'Our
technologies are being used for national security type purposes, and the U.S. government
has a concern about what might be happening' in countries that might not be friendly
toward the United States or with terrorist groups inside and outside of this country
(qtd. in Drumheller, 2). Both governments and companies are forced to pay large amounts
of money to try and make their sites safe and impossible for hackers to break into.
However most hackers are not going to harm a government or business.
Genuine hackers hack only for the joy of knowledge. A rush, like no other, is felt after
finally gaining access into a site or a computer. They feel most information should be
free. They do not look at hacking as stealing. They see hacking as borrowing information.
However the good hackers do understand the rights of privacy and the good hackers do not
mess with peoples private matters. Hackers believe knowledge is power. Therefor they are
in the constant pursuit of power. 
Hackers are a growing trend, or problem, which ever way one sees it. This underground
culture will not disappear anytime soon. As long as there is technology there will be
people wishing to know more about it and there will be people breaking into files. Is
technology really such a great thing?
Bibliography
Drumheller, Michelle. Hackers Intensify Fears of Industrial Espionage. National Defense
84.549 (1999) : 48-52.
Koerner, Brendan I. Who are hackers, anyway? U.S. News & World Report 126.23 (1999) :
53-54. 
Levy, Stephen. Hackers: Heros of the Computer Revolution. New York: Dell, 1984.