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Are there good hackers and bad hackers?
For all intents and purposes, there are indeed good and bad hackers when considering all the modern definitions of hackers, but the answer one would get to this question depen…ds on whom you ask. In general, there are four categories of hackers. Each category attempts to generally convey the moral compass of that group relative to themselves and everyone else, as well as provide a basic backdrop of information on that category. The first category of hackers are those for whom the term 'hacking' was originally defined. In this category, you have the hackers that perform the art in order to improve their knowledge of technology. They are curious about how systems work, and all of their attempts at penetration and exploits are merely expressions of this curiosity. Any damage caused is coincidental, or, if intentional, is based on revenge and not simple exploitation of innocent bystanders. Hackers were often classified by types, such as hardware hackers, computer hackers, phone hackers, etc. In general, this category of hackers will not acknowledge the remaining three types of hackers as such. They consider the second form of hackers to be 'crackers', the third form as 'security consultants', and the fourth form as 'criminals.' This category only recognizes the classic definition of hacking, and so all hacking is good. Most everyone else, except possibly whitehats, are likely to see this category as bad due to the negative media coverage of crackers. The second category of hackers were called crackers at large, until the media had a confusion over the various terms and simply lumped anyone that did something unusual with technology as hackers, mutating the term. Crackers are those that generally 'crack' things, such as breaking through firewalls, reverse engineering copyright protection so they can sell illegal copies, and the like; they have the same basic skills as hackers, but have a darker side to their motives. Classic hackers generally hated the media for smearing their reputation by lumping in these malicious individuals with themselves. At some point, crackers also started using the term 'hackers' for themselves, thus further cementing the definition of hacker as 'one who does bad things with computers.' These crackers see themselves as good, or at least morally gray, and do not generally see any difference between their activities as compared to classic hackers, but are classified as bad by almost everyone else. The third category of hackers are called whitehat hackers. Individuals in this category are a branch from the classic hackers on the 'good' side of morality. While classic hackers might say that this new group of hackers sold out on their heritage, whitehat hackers are out to make the world a better place, and line their pockets at the same time. Whitehats generally appeared after the appearance of blackhats; they seem to have appeared from the classic hacker community in response to a threat with the promise of monetary gain for their troubles. These hackers will penetrate systems, document the flaws, and then sell this information to the organizations they have penetrated. They won't generally do so until they've been contracted by the organization to perform this work, which makes their otherwise illegal activities legal. They are essentially employed hackers for the good of humanity. Classic hackers are likely to see them as bad, having discarded their disdain for corporate greed, and blackhats see them as enemies, while the rest of the world see them as good. The fourth category of hackers are called blackhat hackers, and represent the other side of the for-profit hacker community. They are generally crackers that have gone to the next level of the art of criminal activity. While crackers might break copyright protections for personal gain, blackhats are more interested in the big pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Rather than sell a few lousy DVDs or cracked games, these hackers break into databases and steal millions of credit card numbers, or grab bank account numbers and transfer money out of them covertly, and other such activities. Blackhats and whitehats are directly opposed to each other, with the good trying to defend companies against the bad. Neither group are generally interested in hackers or crackers, except possibly as recruits for their respective trades. Everyone considers this group bad, except for themselves; since most of them have little sense of morality, they usually simply exist, although some might acknowledge they are bad or have a sense of doing good by claiming that their hacker mentality against corporate greed drove them to relieve those corporations of their money. Blackhats, however, will work together for greater gains from their activities. As one can tell, 'good' and 'bad' are relative to whom the question is asked, and even their very definitions differ even within the same group and from other groups. (MORE)
