Hackers have been viewed in the past as nerdy, geeky harmless nerd, but this view has changed into a malicious techno criminal. The media has fueled the world’s view of these cyber criminals in such a way that their activities, even though harmless at times, have been criminalized and when caught they are severely punished.

Hackers are not criminal minded teenagers, who enjoy causing havoc by crashing computer system, but are people who want their ethics and motivation to be understood and viewed as legitimate. The real hacking community calls these teenagers who break into computer systems and crack software codes, ‘crackers’. These are mainly adolescent males who get a kick out of breaking into computers and phreaking the phone system. The basic difference is this: hackers build things, crackers break them.

Hackers solve problems and build things, and they believe in freedom and voluntary mutual help

In the wake of the terrorist attacks on September 11th 2001, the US government gave the Federal Bureau of Investigation full unrestricted power to gather and monitor anyone they suspect of having any terrorist ties or are engaged in any terrorist activity without having any evidence of such.

Perhaps the most damaging law to the hacker community is what is known as the USA-PATRIOT act (Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism). “Several of the more troubling provisions of the USA-PATRIOT Act deal with the Internet. The law institutes harsher and broader penalties for hacking into a protected computer – even if no damage is done. This clause criminalizes less serious forms of computer cracking that have been overlooked in the past.” (Connor)

The greatest problem with the USA-PATRIOT act is that it shows no distinction between serious crimes and lesser crimes. On top of this, the ability of law enforcement to capture and punish those who aim to cause serious damage to our way of life, cyber-terrorists, has not been increased by this new law. In effect, it would be like creating a new crime bill that makes jaywalking a felony while not doing anything to deter murder. Ordinary people who commit minor infractions will find themselves in jail for decades, while those who commit the most heinous crimes in society will be unaffected. It goes without saying that the hacker community is fighting this new law with a diligence rarely seen before.

Such wiretapping and unlawful invasion of privacy is what has been going on for years with the hackers, and this was considered illegal by the US government. But in the name of national security, it has been deemed legal to permit law enforcement to tap into our conversation, screen our private email, and monitor our use of the internet.

"Hacking" can be defined as making a modification to something to improve it or to make it do something it was not originally intended to do. A hacker is someone who will seek out security flaws or holes in a computer or telephone system. Media coverage has given the term "hacker" a negative connotation. However, the original usage was complimentary, indicating someone with a high level of technical sophistication, or someone who enjoyed the intellectual challenge of overcoming or circumventing limitations. "White hat" hackers are individuals who endeavor to identify security weaknesses, and point these weaknesses out to the companies whose systems they have penetrated. This allows the company to patch the holes identified, before "black hat" hackers can find and exploit the same flaws with malicious intent.

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