Editing Hacker (section)

== Definitions ==
{{Further|Security hacker|White hat (computer security)|Black hat (computer security)|Grey hat}}

Reflecting the two types of hackers, there are two definitions of the word "hacker":

# Originally, hacker simply meant advanced computer technology enthusiast (both hardware and software) and adherent of programming subculture; see [[hacker culture]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=[[Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution]]|year=1984}}</ref>
# Someone who is able to subvert [[computer security]]. If doing so for malicious purposes, the person can also be called a [[Security hacker|cracker]].{{ref RFC|1983}}

Mainstream usage of "hacker" mostly refers to computer criminals, due to the mass media usage of the word since the 1990s.<ref>{{Cite web | url = https://www.cnet.com/news/in-95-these-people-defined-tech-gates-gosling-bezos-mitnick-and-more/ | title = In '95, these people defined tech: Gates, Bezos, Mitnick and more | access-date = 2020-05-28 | first = Jon | last = Skillings | date = 2020-05-27 | website = [[CNET]] | quote = The term "hacker" started out with a benign definition: It described computer programmers who were especially adept at solving technical problems. By the mid-1990s, however, it was widely used to refer to those who turned their skills toward breaking into computers, whether for mild mischief or criminal gain. Which brings us to [[Kevin Mitnick]]. | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200528205149/https://www.cnet.com/news/in-95-these-people-defined-tech-gates-gosling-bezos-mitnick-and-more/ | archive-date = 2020-05-28 | df = dmy-all }}</ref> This includes what hacker jargon calls [[script kiddie]]s, less skilled criminals who rely on tools written by others with very little knowledge about the way they work.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Samuel Chng |author2=Han Yu Lu |author3=Ayush Kumar |author4=David Yau |date=Mar 2022 |title=Hacker types, motivations and strategies: A comprehensive framework |journal=Computers in Human Behavior Reports |volume=5 |issn=2451-9588 |pages= |doi=10.1016/j.chbr.2022.100167 |doi-access=free }}</ref> This usage has become so predominant that the general public is largely unaware that different meanings exist.<ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Yagoda|first1=Ben|title=A Short History of "Hack"|url=http://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/a-short-history-of-hack|magazine=The New Yorker|access-date=November 3, 2015|archive-date=November 10, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151110004249/http://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/a-short-history-of-hack|url-status=live}}</ref> Though the self-designation of hobbyists as hackers is generally acknowledged and accepted by computer security hackers, people from the programming subculture consider the computer intrusion related usage incorrect, and emphasize the difference between the two by calling security breakers "crackers" (analogous to a [[safecracker]]).

The controversy is usually based on the assertion that the term originally meant someone messing about with something in a positive sense, that 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.{{ref RFC|1392}}

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. In computer enthusiast and hacker culture, the primary meaning is a complimentary description for a particularly brilliant programmer or technical expert. A large segment of the technical community insist the latter is the correct usage, as in the [[Jargon File]] definition.

Sometimes, "hacker" is simply used synonymously with "[[geek]]": "A true hacker is not a group person. He's a person who loves to stay up all night, he and the machine in a love-hate relationship... They're kids who tended to be brilliant but not very interested in conventional goals It's a term of derision and also the ultimate compliment."<ref>[[Alan Kay]] quoted in [[Stewart Brand]], "S P A C E W A R: Fanatic Life and Symbolic Death Among the Computer Bums:" In ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' (1972)</ref>

[[Fred Shapiro]] thinks that "the common theory that 'hacker' originally was a benign term and the malicious connotations of the word were a later perversion is untrue." He found that the malicious connotations were already present at MIT in 1963 (quoting ''[[The Tech (newspaper)|The Tech]]'', an MIT student newspaper), and at that time referred to unauthorized users of the telephone network,<ref name="shapiro">Fred Shapiro: [http://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0306B&L=ads-l&P=R5831&m=24290 Antedating of "Hacker"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071025200829/http://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0306B&L=ads-l&P=R5831&m=24290 |date=2007-10-25 }}. ''American Dialect Society Mailing List'' (13. June 2003)</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://imranontech.com/2008/04/01/the-origin-of-hacker/|title=The Origin of "Hacker"|date=April 1, 2008|access-date=March 1, 2021|archive-date=March 4, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210304085653/https://imranontech.com/2008/04/01/the-origin-of-hacker/|url-status=live}}</ref> that is, the [[phreaker]] movement that developed into the computer security hacker subculture of today.

=== Civic hacker ===
[[File:Anarchist hackers.jpg|thumb|Anarchist [[hacktivist]] protest in the US]]
Civic hackers use their security and [[Software development|programming acumens]] to create solutions, often public and [[Open-source software|open-sourced]], addressing challenges relevant to neighborhoods, cities, states or countries and the infrastructure within them.<ref>* {{Cite web |date=2013-05-15 |title=What is a Civic Hacker? |url=https://digital.gov/2013/05/15/what-is-a-civic-hacker/ |access-date=2023-11-03 |website=Digital.gov |language=en-US |archive-date=2023-11-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231103065348/https://digital.gov/2013/05/15/what-is-a-civic-hacker/ |url-status=live }}
* {{Cite magazine |last=Finley |first=Klint |title=White House, NASA Celebrate National Day of Hacking |language=en-US |magazine=Wired |url=https://www.wired.com/2013/05/national-day-of-hacking/ |access-date=2023-11-03 |issn=1059-1028 |archive-date=2023-11-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231103065348/https://www.wired.com/2013/05/national-day-of-hacking/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Municipalities and major government agencies such as [[NASA]] have been known to host [[hackathon]]s or promote a specific date as a "National Day of Civic Hacking" to encourage participation from civic hackers.<ref>* {{Cite web |last=Abegail |date=2016-06-04 |title=Join Us for National Day of Civic Hacking |url=https://www.chhs.ca.gov/blog/2016/06/03/join-us-for-national-day-of-civic-hacking/ |access-date=2023-11-03 |website=California Health and Human Services |language=en-US }}
* {{Cite web |date=2016-06-03 |title=Open Data and Innovation at the National Day of Civic Hacking 2016 |url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2016/06/03/open-data-and-innovation-national-day-civic-hacking-2016 |access-date=2023-11-03 |website=whitehouse.gov |language=en |archive-date=2023-06-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230602153858/https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2016/06/03/open-data-and-innovation-national-day-civic-hacking-2016 |url-status=live }}
* {{Cite web |title=Time To Make Plans For June's National Day of Civic Hacking - IEEE Spectrum |url=https://spectrum.ieee.org/time-to-make-plans-for-junes-national-day-of-civic-hacking |access-date=2023-11-03 |website=[[IEEE]] |language=en |archive-date=2023-11-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231103065350/https://spectrum.ieee.org/time-to-make-plans-for-junes-national-day-of-civic-hacking |url-status=live }}
* {{Cite web |last=Hong |first=Albert |date=2016-06-08 |title=National Day of Civic Hacking is about 'civic bravery' |url=https://technical.ly/civic-news/national-day-civic-hacking-secondmuse/ |access-date=2023-11-03 |website=Technical.ly |language=en |archive-date=2023-11-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231103065348/https://technical.ly/civic-news/national-day-civic-hacking-secondmuse/ |url-status=live }}
* {{Cite web |date=2013-05-31 |title=Government releases 'unprecedented amount of data' for National Day of Civic Hacking |url=https://venturebeat.com/entrepreneur/government-releases-unprecedented-amount-of-data-for-national-day-of-civic-hacking/ |access-date=2023-11-03 |website=VentureBeat |language=en-US |archive-date=2022-10-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221004002300/https://venturebeat.com/entrepreneur/government-releases-unprecedented-amount-of-data-for-national-day-of-civic-hacking/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Civic hackers, though often operating autonomously and independently, may work alongside or in coordination with certain aspects of government or local infrastructure such as trains and buses.<ref>* {{Cite web |last=Gallagher |first=Sean |date=2015-02-25 |title=Bus pass: Civic hackers open transit data MTA said would cost too much to share |url=https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2015/02/bus-pass-civic-hackers-open-transit-data-mta-said-would-cost-too-much-to-share/ |access-date=2023-11-03 |website=Ars Technica |language=en-us |archive-date=2023-11-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231103065349/https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2015/02/bus-pass-civic-hackers-open-transit-data-mta-said-would-cost-too-much-to-share/ |url-status=live }}
* {{Cite web |last=Babcock |first=Stephen |date=2015-02-25 |title=Thanks to civic hackers, a Montreal company just made Baltimore's bus system more usable |url=https://technical.ly/software-development/transit-app-civic-hackers-mta-bus-tracking-data-mobile/ |access-date=2023-11-03 |website=Technical.ly |language=en |archive-date=2023-11-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231103065349/https://technical.ly/software-development/transit-app-civic-hackers-mta-bus-tracking-data-mobile/ |url-status=live }}
* {{Cite web |last=Reyes |first=Juliana |date=2014-01-09 |title=This app shows you how often SEPTA Regional Rail is late (with fixes) |url=https://technical.ly/civic-news/septa-regional-rail-late-app/ |access-date=2023-11-03 |website=Technical.ly |language=en |archive-date=2023-11-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231103065358/https://technical.ly/civic-news/septa-regional-rail-late-app/ |url-status=live }}
* {{Cite web |last=Reyes |first=Juliana |date=2014-07-11 |title=Why does this data from our troubled Philadelphia Traffic Court cost $11K? |url=https://technical.ly/civic-news/traffic-court-data-expensive-william-entriken/ |access-date=2023-11-03 |website=Technical.ly |language=en |archive-date=2023-11-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231103065349/https://technical.ly/civic-news/traffic-court-data-expensive-william-entriken/ |url-status=live }}</ref> For example, in 2008, Philadelphia-based civic hacker [[William Entriken]] developed a web application that displayed a comparison of the actual arrival times of local [[SEPTA]] trains to their scheduled times after being reportedly frustrated by the discrepancy.<ref>* {{Cite web |last=Lattanzio |first=Vince |date=2014-01-20 |title=Frustrated Over Late SEPTA Trains, Software Developer Creates App Proposing Better Schedules |url=https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/frustrated-over-late-septa-trains-software-developer-creates-app-to-recommend-schedule-changes/2113743/ |access-date=2023-11-20 |archive-date=2023-11-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231120090928/https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/frustrated-over-late-septa-trains-software-developer-creates-app-to-recommend-schedule-changes/2113743/ |url-status=live }}
* {{Cite web |last=Reyes |first=Juliana |date=2014-01-09 |title=This app shows you how often SEPTA Regional Rail is late (with fixes) |url=https://technical.ly/civic-news/septa-regional-rail-late-app/ |access-date=2023-11-20 |archive-date=2023-12-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231204180732/https://technical.ly/civic-news/septa-regional-rail-late-app/ |url-status=live }}
* {{Cite web |last=Metro Magazine Staff |date=2014-01-22 |title=SEPTA rider creates app proposing 'better schedules' |url=https://www.metro-magazine.com/10038748/septa-rider-creates-app-proposing-better-schedules |access-date=2023-11-20 |archive-date=2023-11-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231120220825/https://www.metro-magazine.com/10038748/septa-rider-creates-app-proposing-better-schedules |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Security related hacking ===

[[Security hacker]]s are people involved with circumvention of computer security. There are several types, including:

;[[White hat (computer security)|White hat]]:Hackers who work to keep data safe from other hackers by finding system [[Vulnerability (computing)|vulnerabilities]] that can be mitigated. White hats are usually employed by the target system's owner and are typically paid (sometimes quite well) for their work. Their work is not illegal because it is done with the system owner's consent.

;[[Black hat hacking|Black hat]] or Cracker:Hackers with malicious intentions. They often steal, exploit, and sell data, and are usually motivated by personal gain. Their work is usually illegal. A cracker is like a black hat hacker,<ref>{{Cite web|title=What are crackers and hackers? {{!}} Security News|url=http://www.pctools.com/security-news/crackers-and-hackers/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110515044743/http://www.pctools.com/security-news/crackers-and-hackers/|archive-date=May 15, 2011|access-date=2016-09-10|website=www.pctools.com}}</ref> but is specifically someone who is very skilled and tries via hacking to make profits or to benefit, not just to vandalize. Crackers find exploits for system vulnerabilities and often use them to their advantage by either selling the fix to the system owner or selling the exploit to other black hat hackers, who in turn use it to steal information or gain royalties.

;[[Grey hat]]:Computer security experts who may sometimes violate laws or typical [[Hacker ethic|ethical standards]], but do not have the malicious intent typical of a black hat hacker.

=== Hacker culture ===
{{main|Hacker culture}}

[[Hacker culture]] is an idea derived from a community of enthusiast [[computer programmer]]s and [[systems designer]]s in the 1960s around the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]]'s (MIT's) [[Tech Model Railroad Club]] (TMRC)<ref>{{cite web |last=London |first=Jay |date=6 April 2015 |title=Happy 60th Birthday to the Word "Hack" |url=https://slice.mit.edu/2015/04/06/happy-birthday-hack/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160507193534/https://slice.mit.edu/2015/04/06/happy-birthday-hack/ |archive-date=7 May 2016 |access-date=16 December 2016}}</ref> and the [[MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Raymond |first=Eric |author-link=Eric S. Raymond |date=25 August 2000 |title=The Early Hackers |url=http://www.catb.org/~esr/writings/cathedral-bazaar/hacker-history/ar01s02.html |access-date=6 December 2008 |work=A Brief History of Hackerdom |publisher=Thyrsus Enterprises |archive-date=10 October 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081010145931/http://www.catb.org/~esr/writings/cathedral-bazaar/hacker-history/ar01s02.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The concept expanded to the hobbyist home computing community, focusing on hardware in the late 1970s (e.g. the [[Homebrew Computer Club]])<ref>Levy, part 2</ref> and on software ([[video game]]s,<ref>Levy, part 3</ref> [[software cracking]], the [[demoscene]]) in the 1980s/1990s. Later, this would go on to encompass many new definitions such as art, and [[life hacking]].