Replies to post #2603 on The Question and Answer Board (IHUB)

[Anthony M]

Did anyone say hacking?

Are these correct definitions, because these are the ones I know that apply in a court of law.


Hackers

"Hacker"5 is a term commonly applied to a "computer user who intends to gain unauthorized access to a computer system."6 Hackers are skilled computer users who penetrate computer systems to gain knowledge about computer systems and how they work.7 The traditional hacker does not have authorized access to the system.8 Hacking purists do not condone damage to the systems that are hacked.9 According to The Jargon Dictionary, the term "hacker" seems to have been first adopted as a badge in the 1960s by the hacker culture surrounding The Tech Model Railroad Club ("TMRC") at Massachusetts Institute of Technology when members of the group began to work with computers.10 The TMRC resents the application of the term "hacker" to mean the committing of illegal acts, maintaining that words such as "thieves," "password crackers," or "computer vandals" are better descriptions.11
In the hacking "community," it is considered better to be described as a "hacker" by others than to describe oneself as a "hacker."12 Hackers consider themselves members of an elite meritocracy based on ability and trade hacker techniques and "war stories" amongst themselves in Usenet forums, local or regional clubs, and national conferences, such as the annual Def Con Computer Underground Convention held in Las Vegas.13

Crackers
A "cracker" is a hacker with criminal intent.14 According to The Jargon Dictionary,15 the term began to appear in 1985 as a way to distinguish "benign" hackers from hackers who maliciously cause damage to targeted computers. Crackers16 maliciously sabotage computers, steal information located on secure computers, and cause disruption to the networks for personal or political motives. 17
Estimates made in the mid-1990's by Bruce Sterling, author of The Hacker Crackdown: Law and Disorder on the Electronic Frontier, put "the total number of hackers at about 100,000, of which 10,000 are dedicated and obsessed computer enthusiasts. A group of 250-1,000 are in the so-called hacker 'elite', skilled enough to penetrate corporate systems and to unnerve corporate security."18
In the eyes of the law, hacking and cracking are not always treated the same way. Depending upon the method of intrusion, the type of computer that was broken into, the hacker's intent, and the type and amount of damage, different statutes and penalties will apply.19 There are many ways to approach a discussion on hacking. In this article, we will structure the discussion on hacking techniques within the framework of the statutory elements to provide an understanding of how the different techniques trigger different statutes and penalties. We begin with an overview of hacking and an explanation of several common hacking techniques. Then, we discuss the relevant criminal code that can be applied depending on the nature of the hack.



If anyone knows better, please respond.
Thanks.


A. MarketFusion