[an article written for and published in a Computer-related e-zine]
It wasn't that long ago that I was a starry-eyed kid, who followed the scene blindly. But it also wasn't that long ago that so-called hackers had morals, of a kind. There was an unspoken collective agreement that hacking actually stood for something worth-while. Somehow the term hacking has been seamlessly forever misdefined by all the cracker/fraudulent kiddies out there. What ever happened to the freedom of information? What ever happened to the righteousness behind a good hack? Somehow young pre-teens have grown up on exploits and power-trips. Somehow the latest crack has been given the title of a "hack" and we all spread the word.
But that's not what hacking is and never has been. Years ago I remember sitting in a backwards channel on a not-so-reccommended corner of IRC arguing over the definition of a hacker.
hacker (n.) 1. one who works as an individual or as part of a team to gain access to information otherwise not available to the public, under the belief that all information is and should be public knowledge. 2. one who works as an individual or as part of a team to bring forward into the public eye the flaws and loopholes present in current so-called secure systems.
When we happened on that one, there was still some semblance of truth to it. There were still those we could point out who worked under the guidelines of such statements, rather than for the simple purpose of being able to "0wn" a system and then leave their mark, possibly destroying pertinent data in the process.
With the new millennium rapidly descending upon us, and the possibility of the end of the world, most wannabe hackers are just out for a name for themselves. They want their alias flashed across the web, they want faces in the news. They like the idea of a stack of newspaper clippings with THEIR alias in it, because they would only agree to be quoted if "their identity remains unknown".
These so-called hackers are simply mislabeled. They're not hackers. They're something that no one really wants to relate to, but deep inside knows they are. These script-kiddies, who steal other people's work and use it to crack into a system, are simply one thing collectively: criminals.
"... a California consulting firm, Computer Economics Inc., issued a report June 18 that estimated business losses of $7.6 billion to virus and 'worm' attacks in the first half of this year alone. " (Taken from the online The Inquirer, an article Sunday June 27, 99 - http://www.phillynews.com/inquirer/99/Jun/27/front_page/HACK27.htm)
There is no end to the amount of damage caused by these people working in the name of hacking. They easily slip into systems, through glaring flaws in the security, and then wreck havoc. The worst part is? They're proud of it. They're 14, 15, 16 year old's for the most part and they brag to their friends about it. Common-place today is what is best known as Web-hacking, where an individual or group will enter a system and re-write www/html files to put their name on the web. Normally such edited files will include nasty threats, proclamations of superiority, shout-outs to friends, disturbing graphics and if we - the viewing audience - are lucky, there'll also be a group logo, such as the Keebler Elves 0wned icon.
It's criminal. What is the betterment to anyone by this? Sure, the site goes offline, the administrators spend time and money checking into their security, and the police/fbi make a half-hearted effort at tracking down the vandals. It's an electric form of tagging. That's all it is. WWW pages are just another form of large down-town brick buildings eager for a coat of spray-paint.
I suppose what gets to me the most - the real clincher is - rarely do these kids get in by their own devices. It's usually some exploit they picked up from slashdot or bugtraq, written by maybe even a friend of theirs, but not them, and put to use after multiple testings of online IRC unfortunates. In all honesty, I'm not computer illiterate and am capable of running an executable file on my *nix machine. It wouldn't be so hard for me to crack into any number of severely crippled security-wise web pages and maybe even post this article. It's something I've written and put my own effort into. Why shouldn't I plaster is all over the web for the world to read? Because there's a little bit of morality in me. I wouldn't break into my next-door neighbour's house and leave it on their kitchen table for them to read, or wallpaper their house with it. I wouldn't break into the Police Station's file room and put one in every case folder for someone to happen upon later. Why should I break into a company web site and plaster their page with my words, why should I attempt to 0wn an FBI site for the sole purpose of making a name for myself?
When speaking with a long-time security consultant who has experience from the at-home aspect, on up into corporate Motorola and then back down to the level of local ISP, he shared a few words of wisdom "What you should do, as a hacker, is leave a file, maybe something called iwashere.txt - because then it's 8 characters and works in all platforms, including the out-dated DOS ones - with something to the effect that you broke into their system, have looked around, that they're not going to be able to track you, but you want them to know that you were here and then sign it with your online alias. After you do this to a number of sites, you're going to get the fame you want, and the sites are going to go about securing themselves just as they would if you'd edited their web page, but you haven't caused any REAL damage."
Over the years the term "hacking" has become one related closely to computer/phone-crimes and credit-card fraud. The previously given definition has little chance of ever standing true again and those of us who remember the "old-school" days sit back silently and watch the youngsters quickly bury themselves in a world they just don't understand. Anarchy has yet to find a solid ground in our society and when one tries to live outside the walls of the norm, but insists on leaving trails inside, there's only one place for them to end up.
