Hacking Controversey

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When the public hears the term hacking, they often think of theft, defacement, crime, and other words associated with criminal activities. Nowadays, this view is, in a way correct, but it is not entirely true. It is safe to say that quite a few hackers are bad, but that is because we are in the 21st century. We are the most technological advanced generation to date. The good hackers do far out ways the bad that some individuals commit. The view of hackers has changed drastically over time; hackers are now viewed as criminals, but that is not always the case, many hackers are in fact harmless individuals looking to make a difference.

The view of hacking has changed quite drastically over time. To fully comprehend why the change occurred, the time period when hacking originally started must be explored. “[The first hackers] were students and university hangers-on — some as young as 12 — mainly at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and later at universities such as Stanford and Cornell” (Clemmitt 3). Steven Levy describes these individuals as “digital explorers” (Clemmitt 3). The actual term hacker was a slang that derived from M.I.T. during the 1960s, the term meant “computer nerd” (Clemmitt 3). Steven Levy said that these “backroom geniuses understood the machine at its most profound levels” (Clemmitt 3). As stated in the earlier sentences, hacking started in the 1960s. Soon after that in 1972, “hacker pioneer John Draper [was] arrested for infiltrating AT&T's long-distance telephone system using a toy whistle found in boxes of Cap'n Crunch cereal” (“Key Events” 1). Over time hacking became more of a common theme in everyday lives and so the change of the meaning of the term, “hacking,” started to occur. As time progr...

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... world a lot by giving it 2 operating systems that have changed everything.

Works Cited

Adams, Mark R. "Hacking Terminology." Documentation Zone. Web. 9 Dec. 2011.

Clemmitt, Marcia. "Computer Hacking." CQ Researcher. CQ Researcher, 16 Sept. 2011.

Web. 11 Nov. 2011.

"Computer Hacking Terminology (sidebar)." Issues & Controversies On File: n. pag.

Issues & Controversies. Facts On File News Services, 6 June 2008. Web. 5 Dec.

2011.

"Key Events in the History of Computer Hacking (sidebar)." Issues & Controversies On

File: n. pag. Issues & Controversies. Facts On File News Services, 6 June 2008.

Web. 5 Dec. 2011.

Scholes, Dan. "Kevin Mitnick: The Most Notorious Hacker." Webster University. Webster. Web.

7 Dec. 2011.

"Top 10 Most Famous Hackers of All Time - IT Security." IT Security - The Industry's Web

Resource. IT Security. Web. 9 Dec. 2011.

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