The True Hacker: A Distortion Of Reality

8 Pages 2087 Words

st for knowledge.
Hackers have ethics, contrary to what the media has portrayed. Hackers do not plant viruses, (biggest myth) they do not steal. However certain hackers who misuse their abilities to steal are not classified as true hackers, because knowledge in itself is its own reward. Hackers do not cause corruption nor destroy systems or networks. A real hacker’s purpose is to explore foreign material. The most common cliché is “Using your knowledge to increase your knowledge.” But nowhere in the process is it said to gain material wealth or harm other computer systems. Hackers are the ones that should be helped and assisted because of their sheer intellectual capacity, and their ability to solve the everyday problems of the rapid advancement in modern technology.
But is hacking really a crime? Is there a line between harmful and harmless hacking? “Hacking is a state of mind, not just the activity of breaking into computer systems. It can mean sitting up behind a computer all night to make a clever program to perform some useful or useless program.” (Hayward) Hackers have been deemed with malicious acts and criminal activity, irredeemable to society. But, hackers say that unauthorized entry to a network does not have to involve harming that network or stealing intellectual property. The only purpose the true hacker when making an unauthorized entry is to explore the depths of a computing system. In short, the dividing line comes when hackers damage or corrupt the person’s uses of a computing system. Okay, but if hacking is a crime, should it be considered a civil or criminal offense? True...