Computer Hackers and Ethics

What comes to mind when you hear the word ‘hacker’? For most it means stealing information through the Internet, gaining illegal access to another person’s PC, or simply - disruptive behavior using a computer. The subject of hacking is no secret to the general public. Many people have been exposed to it by a bad experience or through the news and media. The idea of hacking that is stuck in the minds of people is that of which they have seen in the movies. The movies portray hackers as young and devious criminals. However, in reality these individuals are, talented people who use their abilities to find new and challenging ways to change how computers work. According to the Cult of the Dead Cow (weird name), a hacking organization, true hackers do not get into the system to erase everything or to sell the information to someone else. They get in there to satisfy their curiosity to see if getting into the system can be done, to search around inside of a place they have never been, and to explore the little nooks and crannies of cyberspace. Of course there are those who erase files from other people’s computers, steal information from cyberspace, and vandalize web pages. These people are not hackers, as the media calls them, they are known as crackers. Hackers use their vast knowledge to better the computer industry. Hacking started even before computers became popular. The earliest forms of hacking started in the 1960’s, when AT & T was the only phone company. Back then the telephone was taken for granted and the way the phone system worked was a complete mystery. Phones were considered an early form of the computer. Those that tried to understand the phone system more and find ways to make free phone calls from pay phones were kno...

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...above. A true hacker goes by his or her own ethical code, respecting the computers he or she works on and the hacks. A real hacker would be considered an ethical hacker as opposed to the crackers whose only objective is to gain information and money illegally.

Personally, I feel that hacking is wrong whether there are good or bad hackers. A hacker is a hacker and seen as a criminal in the eyes of the law. Any true hackers should seek knowledge in a better manner. Many ex-hackers have found jobs as security advisors for large corporations. A possible solution to stopping the widespread computer underground would be to offer more courses in school relating to networking and system security. This would not only teach students system analysis, but also ethics. They will learn that they should not use this information to break into other people’s systems.