What Is Hacking?
Hacking is the illegal unauthorized access of computer systems, networks, and devices. It involves the use of malware, social engineering techniques, and phishing emails to gain sensitive information or cause damage to the system. Hacking is a multibillion dollar industry, and it is increasingly sophisticated in its methods. Despite the popular stereotype of a lone rogue programmer, hackers are a diverse group of people with advanced technical skills and knowledge of how to exploit software security flaws. They also have specific motives ranging from profit to revenge to activism.
Hackers first gained prominence in the 1980s when inexpensive computers became available to the public. As a result, the programmer subculture of hacking was able to reach new audiences, and some hackers began criminally exploiting vulnerabilities in computer software and hardware. Hackers achieved notoriety for crimes ranging from stealing proprietary software to launching distributed denial-of-service attacks. Prominent victims included large companies, government agencies, and even the International Space Station.
Some hackers are motivated by espionage, seeking to steal trade secrets or information from competitor organizations. Others are motivated by anger and a desire to get revenge on individuals or organizations they feel have wronged them in some way. Finally, hackers can be motivated by political activism or a desire to advance a specific ideology.
As the popularity of the negative connotation of the term has increased, some programmers have taken issue with it being used to describe them and have begun using alternative terms such as cracker. However, the majority of the programming community continues to embrace hacker as a cultural identifier and a technical term.