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By Beenthere on 4/4/2007 5:51:32 PM , Rating: -1
The only good hacker is a dead hacker.

By gradoman on 4/4/2007 7:28:17 PM , Rating: 2
Actually they'd be better off working at a security firm.

By Spartan Niner on 4/5/2007 2:15:26 AM , Rating: 3

1. someone who plays golf poorly
3. a programmer for whom computing is its own reward; may enjoy the challenge of breaking into other computers but does no harm; "true hackers subscribe to a code of ethics and look down upon crackers"
4. one who works hard at boring tasks [syn: hack]

Now I don't know what ignorant definition of hacking you've been taught by the media, but #3 is probably closest to the original meaning of "hacker", not the bastardized meaning portrayed by the news media of including anything from script-kiddies to cyber-thugs and malware-writers. I don't consider script-kiddies to be hackers, and I certainly wouldn't group cyber-thugs and malware-writers with them. "Hackers" have been around since Steve Russell et al. wrote code and tweaked oscilloscopes to make Spacewar

By bldckstark on 4/5/2007 12:25:36 PM , Rating: 2
The word "Cracker" was derived from combining two words. Those being "Criminal" and "Hacker". That should tell you the difference between the use of the words. Cracker is also a slang word used dergatorially to describe caucasians. This is why you rarely see it used in the media. Using the term cracker to describe criminal hacking would cause some uptight white Democrat to call Greenpeace on the newspaper, thinking they used a derogatory term. Aren't we all better off with this politically correct world!!

By Motley on 4/5/2007 1:28:50 PM , Rating: 2
No, cracker didn't derive from combining two words. Cracker came from being able to break into something. As in "To crack a safe", or "crack a walnut".

By rcc on 4/5/2007 6:51:09 PM , Rating: 2
The evolution/spread of the term is pretty humorous considering it was originally coined as a derogatory name by programmers to describe someone that "hacked" code from other peoples programs rather than write their own.

By Proteusza on 4/5/2007 5:03:50 AM , Rating: 2
The whole case is rather tragic. He should be tried here in the UK like any other hacker. But the real reason the US wants him over there, is because they are embarrassed and want to make an example of him. I read an article about him, and his crime, and he says it was easy to get into their network. No doubt it was not as secure as they hoped, and they were unpleasantly surprised to see a stranger snooping around. I dont doubt this incident made the US improve their security 100 fold, so that another incident like this will no longer possible.

he was only one man, he was only curious, and he get anywhere he wanted. Anyone else think that NASA and the Army should be better protected than that?

Oh how did he incur $700 000 worth of damage? Is that what they spent improving their security after they realized they had been owned?

if one of the machines gets compromised on your network, blame the hacker. If all machines on many metropolitan networks across different departments get compromised, you can only blame yourself for being so stupid. thats also why he won't be employed - he didn't get in because he was a genius, he got in because security was lax.

He deserves a jail sentence, but he deserves on here in the UK, and for no more than 10 years in total.

By bohhad on 4/5/2007 10:17:31 AM , Rating: 2
nope, he's going to the US to do 70 years in a federal, pound-me-in-the-ass prison.

your justification sucks. so if one house burns down, blame the arsonist, if the whole town burns down, blame public safety for being asleep at the wheel?

By Christopher1 on 4/6/2007 6:54:18 AM , Rating: 2
Actually, that's a pretty good reasoning there. If an arsonist sets one house on fire with the intent to only burn that house, and the whole town burns down, you have to blame public safety and the firefighters today, because with all the equipment that firefighters have now, they should be able to put out that one fire before it burns down more than that one house.


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