| Most people misunderstand the meaning of hacking. Hacking isn't necessarily the voluntary attacking of other people's computers with the sole purpose of harming them. However, that is the picture we paint in our minds whenever the news informs us about a "hacker attack." What we think is hacking, is actually called cracking. In the computer world, hacking is defined as finding new ways to change how computers work. So real hackers are actually helping the computer industry grow, not harming innocent people. The biggest reason that "hacker" has become the accepted word for a computer terrorist is that a cracker (the bad guy) usually calls himself a hacker (the good guy) in hopes of making himself look better in the computer world. For the sake of sanity, I will use "hacking" just as the media uses it, with a negative connotation.
The first real forms of electronic hacking began with the telephone system. Breaking into phone systems is called "phreaking." One of the first phreakers was an MIT student by the name of Stewart Nelson. In 1964 Stewart learned how to make the MIT computer generate the frequencies that would get him into a phone system's long distance service. Stewart was not interested in stealing phone service, but rather was more interested in how the system worked. One of the stranger entries in the phreaking scene was "Joe The Whistler," who joined the scene around 1969. Joe was reportedly born blind and had the unique ability to be able to whistle a perfect 2600hz tone. It is this tone that allows one access to the long distance system without having to pay for it. Normally a phone phreaker would use what is called a "blue box" to get into the long distance system. A blue box is nothing more than a tone generator that could generate the 2600hz tone. It was another blind man, Dennie, who gave rise to one of the most famous phreakers of all time, John Draper. John Draper, a.k.a. Cap'n Crunch, got his nickname by using a toy whistle that came in boxes of Cap'n Crunch cereal to produce a 2600hz tone. When the third hole was taped over, this whistle would generate a perfect 2600hz tone thus giving one access to the long distance phone system. Draper was also one of the first persons to make a blue box. He eventually made blue boxes that could generate several different tones to access different parts of the telephone system, or dial internal telephone company numbers. Cap'n Crunch had two soon to be famous students in the skill of phone phreaking: Steve Jobs and Steven Wozniak, the founders of Apple Computer. Wozniak used to make and sell blue boxes, which Draper taught him to make, for spending money at school. John Draper was active from 1969 until 1974 when he was arrested on Federal fraud charges. Curiosity eventually led phreakers to be interested in the computers that ran phone systems. Those who changed their focus from telephones to computers came to be known as hackers.
Hacking is not an easy process. One must understand the inner workings of his computer. He must know why a certain application works and what its weaknesses may be. Hackers will use these weaknesses to their advantage. For example, hackers can easily target users of AOL, who usually have very limited security on their computers. Hackers take advantage of people who don't utilize security programs and can filch user passwords, credit card numbers, etc. However, most hackers don't spend their time hacking into a regular person's computer. Many hackers have an aversion towards the large companies, which is why companies such as AT&T and Microsoft are constantly being attacked by the cyberpunks. A hacker's goal might be to gain control of AT&T's mainframe computer and delete all the data files on it. Hackers may also be hired. Like mercenaries, they kill for a price. A company might hire a hacker to steal information from a rival and then have him "nuke" the rival's computer.
When one is hacking, he is usually experimenting with new things. An online encyclopaedia lists a hacker's code of ethics as: "Access to Computers - and anything that might teach you something about the way the world works - should be unlimited and total. Always yield to the Hands-On Imperative! All information should be free. Mistrust Authority - Promote Decentralization. Hackers should be judged by their hacking, not bogus criteria such as degrees, age, race, or position. You can create art and beauty on a computer. Computers can change your life for the better." Hacking, whether it is benign or felonious, is associated with learning and exploration. While there are elder hackers, they grew up from the hacking covens of youngsters interested in exploring and exploiting the new ethereal world of electronic tripping. But like so many other new technologies, the growth of the amateur capabilities and the sharing of findings soon outgrows the normal and the useful; to find an area in which to make a mark requires an excursion into the not so acceptable domains. When hacking the outcome might be totally different than one predicts. Nowadays, if a hacker accidentally hacks into the military's top-secret file database when he really wants to check out his grades in college, there's going to be plenty of FBI agents swarming his house in under an hour. Hackers have free will to do anything they please with their computer until they start breaking the law. The thing about computer related offenses is that the laws that are made to restrict certain actions can never be enough to keep up with the growth of the hacking industry. Judges must attend meetings to learn about computer crimes that people commit. A good example of a person making the most out of his rights is David M. LaMacchia, a student at MIT, who, in 1994, set up a BBS (bulletin board system) for distributing pirated software. Back then, "the wire fraud statutes did not allow for him to be prosecuted for copyright infringement because he didn't profit from his acts" (Forbes). In 1997 the No Electronic Theft Act was passed to fix this problem. Hacking has caused many new regulations to be written. A law written with hackers specifically in mind was signed by President Clinton in 1996, which makes it a federal crime to take, download, or posses trade secret information without consent from the owner. This means that if a hacker breaks into a computer system and looks at any special information that the company may have, he is breaking the law and can be sent to jail. There are other hackers who are called "hacktivists." Instead of wanting to steal credit card numbers or view confidential files, hacktivists deface Web pages and computer systems to promote their own political beliefs. Most people can identify a page that has been "graffitied," but if a naïve person comes to the site and takes whatever the hacktivist said for the truth, there could be problems. A time such as this week's election is perfect for hacktivists to do their misdeeds. A hacktivist may be able to trick someone into thinking they are voting for one person when they are really voting for another. A hacktivist's actions may also be prosecuted in a court of law. It isn't fair to others if because of a hacktivist's claims, crucial votes are lost.
The freedom of hacking is becoming a more and more slim as large companies combine with others to eliminate the practice. All the laws being passed restrict the actions of hackers. Personally I think it's unfair. In the computer world, hackers are only seeking to improve software by identifying any errors or weaknesses. It's the crackers that ruin it for everyone. But I guess there's no other way to prevent the crackers from damaging other people's computers. Once in a while, hackers meet at hacker conventions to share the new things they've discovered. These conventions are legal and allow true hackers to show their genius. Hacking should be allowed to continue. Companies should learn how to get along with hackers who can help with such things as bug testing or other security related subjects. Especially in this world where technology is constantly changing, hacking is a very significant issue. Hiring somebody who understands the methods of hackers to work for security in a company is a smart move. He could prevent malicious hackers from attacking the company and stealing proprietary information. There is much in hacking that can benefit the world around us. Unfortunately, a few groups ruin it for everyone else. The ongoing growth of the computer industry can be attributed in part to the contributions of hackers.
Bibliography
Hafner, Katie, and John Markoff. Cyberpunk. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1991.
Sterling, Bruce. The Hacker Crackdown. New York: Bantam Books, 1992.
Katel, Peter. "Cybercrooks, beware: here come the cybercops." Newsweek Magazine. 9 June 1997.
Cringley, Robert. Accidental Empires. New York: HarperCollins, 1993.
Weigant, Chris. Careers in Cyberspace. New York: Rosen Publishing Group, 1997.
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