Hackers

“...they are still hardly criminal in nature. The intention of most of these individuals is not to destroy or exploit systems but to learn in minute detail how they are used and what they are used for. The quest is purely intellectual, but the drive to learn is so overwhelming that any obstacle blocking its course will be circumvented. Unfortunately the obstacles are usually state and federal laws on unauthorized computer access...” This is a quote from Chris Goggans who was once a member of the hacker Legion of Doom club. On-line he was known as “Erik Bloodaxe”.1 The term “hacker” was first used in the nineteen sixties to describe college students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The students were given this title because of their obsession with computers. They couldn’t get enough of computers. “Hacker” was a label of pride to these students. These first hackers did things such as probe systems to find out how they worked and how to make it give out secrets just as hackers do today. They believed computer time and software should be free and freely shared and resented those who protected ownership. A surprising aspect of hackers is that they actually had rules of their own of what they could do to others files and what they could not do. These rules said no one was to erase, damage, or change anyone’s files. One last rule that they had was no using any one system for personal gain. Surprisingly, most of the hackers followed these guidelines.. Now over the years, “hacker” is a label stating competence and knowledge to meaning someone who breaks into computers. With this information we now have the knowledge that hackers are older and do not have ethics and morals as they used to. The old rules have been forgotten and the FBI has made it’s own definition of a typical hacker: 1. Eighteen to thirty-five years old. 2. Usually male. 3. Bright and highly motivated. 4. The first...