HACKTEVISM

Hacktevism

Hacktevism

When the word technology is mentioned, the first thing that comes to a person's mind is a computer. In today's society of business men and women one can not walk around without seeing a computer every five feet. Computers are something that society has come to rely upon, and with it the reliance upon those who understand computers. System administrators, web designers, computer technicians; are all people who are of the utmost importance to the functioning of the economy. What most people do not know is that most of these people have a certain amount of knowledge about computers that is not shared with the public. This knowledge is evil, and can be used to cause great peril in many ways. However, this is not a problem as these people who are relied upon have a sense of responsibility and do not use this knowledge for evil, yet rather for good. Enter the person who has become synonymous with computer carnage; the hacker. The hacker is also someone who strives for good in a sea of evil. Stereotypes are something that are still very influential in society, even in the world of cyberspace. The stereotype that all computer hackers are bent on world domination and mass destruction is one that is false. True computer hackers feed upon the thrill of being able to "break in" to a computer system, not malicious attacks on it. The most "elite" hackers will also reveal the way they broke in to the company so that they can increase their security. In the end, if there is no challenge, then there is no point. .

In the world of today there are perceived to be two types of people. There is the good guy, and there is the bad guy. Alan Greenspan is a good guy; Osama Bin Laden is a bad guy. The same stereotype is repeated in cyberspace, yet distorted. (Cybercrime-Computer Forensics Pg. 54, 2002)

The cracker is the bad guy and the hacker is almost always the good guy. There are people such as Kevin Mitnick and Robert Morris who use their knowledge in improper ways. These are the people who give computer hackers the stereotype that they have today. The hacker is someone who uses his knowledge to challenge himself by gaining access to unauthorized areas of computers. This is illegal, most companies look to the information that hackers provide to better protect their systems from future break-ins. There are even many professionals who hack into computer systems for a living. Computer security consults are paid a very large amount of money to attempt to hack into their client's computer. Someone who uses what he knows to do good, whilst being perceived as evil, is the true image of a hacker. They strive to be their best whilst being attacked for their actions. The goal of the computer hacker is to be able to achieve his goal of access and also be able to help society with his ...