Cатсн²² (in)sесuяitу / ChrisJohnRiley

The word hacker has many meanings. But despite the twisted view of the hacker presented by the media, a hacker is just somebody who likes to explore possibilities. To test the boundaries of what’s possible, and then break those boundaries. Who knows how many gadgets on the market today are there solely because somebody said “no, I want more”. However in recent years the view of hackers has been almost solely bas. Every time a computer system has a security problem, it’s because of hackers. However, with the increasing trend on moving everything possible to digital formats, how can we assign such labels. Every criminal, from the bank robbers to organized crime, is taking advantage of poor computer security to reach their goals. Just because a bank robber uses a poorly configured computer security system to rob a bank, it doesn’t make him a hacker. He’s simply another bank robber that’s got smart and moved into the 21st Century.

How long it takes the general media to begin to understand this is anybodies guess. However the point of critical mass is bound to come. The day when the news contains the word hacker so much, that it has no meaning anymore. It seems that then and only then will the media outlets realise that just because a computer was involved, it doesn’t change what the criminal is. I just wish that they’d realised that before ruining the reputation of so many great hackers of the past, who’ve brought us real innovations.

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