Hackers are breaking the systems for profit. Before, it was about intellectual curiosity and pursuit of knowledge and thrill, and now hacking is big business.
As a young boy, I was taught in high school that hacking was cool.
Any type of operating system that I wanted to be able to hack, I basically compromised the source code, copied it over to the university because I didn’t have enough space on my 200 megabyte hard drive.
I get hired to hack into computers now and sometimes it’s actually easier than it was years ago.
Use a personal firewall. Configure it to prevent other computers, networks and sites from connecting to you, and specify which programs are allowed to connect to the net automatically.
Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs founded Apple Inc, which set the computing world on its ear with the Macintosh in 1984.
It was used for decades to describe talented computer enthusiasts, people whose skill at using computers to solve technical problems and puzzles was – and is – respected and admired by others possessing similar technical skills.
At the end of the day, my goal was to be the best hacker.
Should we fear hackers? Intention is at the heart of this discussion.
I trust online banking. You know why? Because if somebody hacks into my account and defrauds my credit card company, or my online bank account, guess who takes the loss? The bank, not me.
I got so passionate about technology. Hacking to me was like a video game. It was about getting trophies. I just kept going on and on, despite all the trouble I was getting into, because I was hooked.
What I found personally to be true was that it’s easier to manipulate people rather than technology.
I went from being a kid who loved to perform magic tricks to becoming the world’s most notorious hacker, feared by corporations and the government.
My actions constituted pure hacking that resulted in relatively trivial expenses for the companies involved, despite the government’s false claims.
I wasn’t a hacker for the money, and it wasn’t to cause damage.
Are hackers a threat? The degree of threat presented by any conduct, whether legal or illegal, depends on the actions and intent of the individual and the harm they cause.