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S.M. Furnell: Research Co-ordinator, Network Research Group, School of Electronic, Communication and Electrical Engineering, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, UK
P.S. Dowland: Research Student, Network Research Group, School of Electronic, Communication and Electrical Engineering, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, UK
P.W. Sanders: Visiting Professor, Network Research Group, School of Electronic, Communication and Electrical Engineering, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, UK
Introduction
The definition of the term "hacker" has changed considerably over the last 30 years. In the 1960s, hackers were the dedicated software and hardware gurus, and the term largely referred to persons capable of implementing elegant/technically advanced solutions to technologically complex problems. In the 1990s, however, the name implies something rather different and is commonly used to refer to people dedicated to entering systems by identifying and exploiting security weaknesses. At the extreme are a subset (often distinguished by the term "crackers") who perform openly malicious actions on the systems they enter, such as deleting files, modifying data and stealing information. Such activities would be frowned on by the traditional hackers from the 1960s.
Modern-day hackers are one part of a so-called Computing Underground (Mizrach, 1997). This is something of a catch-all term, which encompasses a number of sub-groups that would generally be classed as undesirable by society at large. These include the aforementioned crackers, phreakers (who actively explore and/or control the telecommunications networks), virus writers and software pirates.
This paper considers the principles from which many hackers operate and the justifications that are often presented for their actions. Significant reference is made to the so-called "Hacker Manifesto", which encapsulates many of their beliefs and is widely available within the hacker community.
The Hacker Manifesto
A popular element of hacker culture is a brief text entitled The Conscience of a Hacker, which is more widely known and referred to as the "Hacker Manifesto". This was written in 1986 by a hacker who operated under the pseudonym of "The Mentor" and who was a member of the notorious hacking group the Legion of Doom (Sterling, 1992). The full text is reproduced in Figure 1.
The Manifesto is still widely accessible, some 12 years after it was originally written. Ordinarily, this could be considered no great feat for a piece of literature. However, it is possibly more significant in...