Hacking in the 21st Century

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A countless number of today’s companies understand “hacking” is not just a crime, but a necessity to today’s internet security. “Microsoft and Facebook announced last November that they would pay bounties to ethical hackers for discovering vulnerabilities, not just in their own products, but in software systems that make up the internet infrastructure, as well” (Acohido par 3). Companies are soliciting outside computer specialists to illegally crack into their networks and try and find security holes in their infrastructure. Imagine prosecuting one of these hackers for responding to the call of these high profile companies. Punishments handed out to a person who has gained access to a network or system that is not their own, must be reflective of the situation and not a blanket punishment for all unauthorized access. Merriam-Webster defines the word hacker in four different ways. The first definition is one that hacks; second is a person who is inexperienced and or unskilled at a particular activity; third, an expert at computer programming and solving problems with a computer; and fourth is one who illegally gains access to and sometimes tampers with information in a computer system (“Hacker”). When society first started associating the term hacker with computers, it was before digital identity theft and cyber terrorism, during the wonderful time of the golden 80’s and 90’s and during the early conception of the internet. Society, at that time, put hackers up on a pedestal. Movies and television portrayed hackers as white nights fighting evil companies for the impoverished peasants. Hackers were capable of feats only thought possible in the most educated of individuals, not mere teenagers working out of their parents’ b... ... middle of paper ... ...ivity in Hacker Culture." Journal of Popular Culture 45.1 (2012): 133-152. Web. 19 Apr. 2013. Rensin, Emmett. "This Infamous Hacker Went to Prison for Trolling AT&T. Now He Wants to Troll Wall Street." Trolls. New Republic, 22 Apr. 2014. Web. 28 Apr. 2014. send-him-back-prison>. Swartz, John. "Internet Activist, a Creator of RSS, Is Dead at 26, Apparently a Suicide." Business Day Technology. New York Times, 12 Jan. 2013. Web. 28 Apr. 2014. 26.html?_r=0>. Yu, Zhengchuan, Gng Hu, and Chenghong Zhang. "Why Computer Talents Become Computer Hackers." Communications of the ACM 56.4 (2013): 64-74. Web. 19 Apr. 2014.

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