South African hacker history South African hacker history A brief history of computer hacking in South Africa. Note: A distinction needs to be made between a "white hat" hacker who hacks out of intellectual curiosity, and a "black hat" hacker who has ulterior motives. In recent times there has been an attempt to restore the meaning of the term hacker, which is still associated with creating code, and its secondary meaning, which has become the stuff of Hollywood legend. The term "cracker" is a better description for those who break into secured system by exploiting computer vulnerabilities. Activists are trapped by BOSS agents who
Hacker is, using playful cleverness to achieve a goal. But then, it is supposed, the meaning of the term shifted over the decades and came to refer to computer criminals. As the security-related usage has spread more widely, the original meaning has become less known. In popular usage and in the media, "computer intruders" or "computer criminals" is the exclusive meaning of the word today. (For example, "An Internet 'hacker' broke through state government security systems in March.") In the computer enthusiast (Hacker Culture) community, the primary meaning is a complimentary description for a particularly brilliant programmer or technical expert. (For