The program has been referred to as a hack, perhaps in the historical sense or in the MIT hack sense. Or the term may have been applied to it in the sense of Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution, a book by Steven Levy.
The program has been called a hack, potentially referring to its historical significance or the MIT hacking community's perspective.  Alternatively, it could be linked to Steven Levy's book, "Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution."