Why Do Hackers Hack?
As a computer technician and tutor, I get asked a lot of
questions about technology and computers in general. The one
question that out-ranks all the others in the number of times
I've been asked is this: "Why do people hack?"
Myth: Hackers are bad. Actually, hackers are merely
computer programmers who go in to someone else's code and
reorganize it somehow. The term is well charted and defined by
Wikipedia and
doesn't directly refer to anything malicious. Quite the
opposite; hackers are programmers to whom we owe a lot of thanks
for working out troubles in software and the Internet.
Truth: Hackers actually lay claim to a Manifesto from
1986 that inspires curiosity and fairness and being accountable
for one's actions. The manifesto was written just after the
author's arrest for "Bank Tampering." His best lament is, "my
crime is that of outsmarting you, something that you will never
forgive me for." Indeed, the pressure of being constantly
watched forced The Mentor's resignation in 1990. To all hackers,
he is considered a living legend.
The Answer: The damage that's done on the Internet and
perhaps to your computer or your neighbor's computer isn't done
by true 'hackers.' Would you call a graffiti vandal an artist or
a 'painter' in the classical sense? Little folks spray paint
buildings because they can. Sometimes it may feel that it's the
only way to leave any mark with a life that feels too small for
anyone to notice.
Peers notice though. The greater the achievement, the greater
the coverage. It's a dark fame from a malicious act with no
definite target. YOU weren't meant to suffer from an attack; the
attack was meant to be seen, however. The first Internet Worm in
history was actually a good experiment that grew systemically
accidentally crashing every computer it came in touch with. Many
malicious code writers and 'crackers' begin honestly enough just
learning how to write code.
With any knowledge comes a tipping point where a decision has to
be made. You eventually get better than the average person and
able to do things that bend outside what was meant to happen.
Most skills don't leave one wondering if they can damage other
people's property (the cook doesn't graduate culinary school
wondering if they should poison people for example), but
computer programing reveals that there's an awful lot of stuff
out there that's ready to break or corrupt with a little push in
the wrong direction.
When you learned to walk, did you step on ants? Why? "Because I
could; because they were there; because I wanted to; because it
looked like fun." I'll bet your answer isn't because you like
hurting or killing things. As you matured, you used those same
feet to take you somewhere. In time, all the modern crackers
will mature and most likely become brilliant members of
programming society.
There is no one magic answer. It's something that happens and
you aren't the target. You don't understand it because you don't
do it. It is a crime, but it's often just a juvenile act of poor
choice and misdirected skills. Defend yourself with anti virus
softwares, don't fall for e-mail scams and know that someday
those mischievous feet will be somewhere good.