Just what is a hacker?

The term “hacker” used to carry with it a somewhat honorable distinction. A hacker is a person who has the innate ability to use or exploit an object in its existing state (in this case a computer's Operating System) to be used for something other than its original purpose.

Due to the overabundance of PC crimes today the term hacker is more commonly associated with a person who uses his or her computer to maliciously attack another unsuspecting person's computer.

Technically a person who commits a crime by way of “hacking” into another computer is a criminal hacker, or 'cracker'. “Hacking” a computer is the act of exploiting vulnerable operating system functions, applications, and peripherals to gain unsolicited access to a computer or network.

Phishers are considered hackers because they use social-engineering to trick and deceive their targets. For example, a phisher may send an e-mail using the façade of a major bank, credit card or E-money service like PayPal. The email will not only look official, but will also have an official-looking network domain name and return address. The body will contain an innocuous message such as: "Your account information requires updating".

The phisher’s assumption is that people will open the email, read it, and believe the contents. They hope the reader will click on the provided link because it looks official, and be directed to a site that looks exactly like the real thing (PayPal, etc.). In reality, the user has been directed to a mock site, and is about to enter confidential account information that will be recorded and sent back to the attacker.

Useful Links

PBS information on anti-hacker security

Hall of Fame, Hacker Psychology and more...

The Legal Framework - Unauthorised Access to Computer Systems

The Hacker Jargon File