Reclaiming the Hacker Title, and Ending the Stereotypes
For some, the term hacker elicits images of a person wearing a black hoodie in a dark room working tirelessly on a computer. In other cases, connotations of criminal syndicates or nation-state attackers jump to mind. Unfortunately, thanks in part to media and entertainment portrayals of hackers, the reality is rarely understood. In fact, even formal descriptions of hackers tend to focus solely on their actions as the defining measure. In truth, the term hacker describes an identity. It refers to characteristics of how a person looks at problems and attempts to solve them.
In 2014, I attended a security conference called GrrCON. A well respected member of the security community, Jayson Street, gave a very powerful keynote speech. His discussion focused on the history of hackers and drove home the message that hackers are not criminals and freaks. Instead, we are artists and inventors. His discussion impacted me so greatly that I got a tattoo at the conference that emblazons those words on the back of my shoulder.
The Mysterious Hacker
When we think about computer hackers in particular, we think about the secretive nature of hackers. People operating in anonymity, using handles rather than their names, using private and sometimes obscure communications channels to share information. Especially in the early days of the internet, this was an accurate view of the hacker community. As a result, it only adds to the myth and mystique of hacker lore. Since hackers were seen as criminals, anonymity was a crucial tool in simply advancing their craft. While their motivations were often rooted in curiosity, law enforcement had very different opinions.
As with any growing community of people, a social order began to develop as well. Personalities clashed, competition often ensued with rival hackers seeking to establish their place among the most skilled by demonstrating proof of their latest hack. Sometimes they even attacked each other. Even today, many of these behaviors persist. There is a degree of fame and respect that is given to those that demonstrate extraordinary skills. But hackers are so much more.
Curiosity and Creativity
“What makes me a hacker is my unfettered, at times almost obsessive need to understand the inner workings of technology.”
Alyssa Miller
If you’ve spent any time on my site or social media pages, you know I identify myself as a hacker. While I’ve taken over domain admin accounts by passing hashes, gained command line access to web servers via poorly configured web applications, and even dumped the entire contents of databases using blind SQL injection vulnerabilities, these skills don’t make me a hacker. On the flip side, I’ve never discovered a 0-day vulnerability, never stolen money or data, and never gone to jail for my activities. These facts don’t make me any less of a hacker.
What makes me a hacker is something more intrinsic, something very integral to my very being. What makes me a hacker is my unfettered, at times almost obsessive need to understand the inner workings of technology. It’s an optimistic problem solving skill. Believing that anything can be changed or improved if I can just simply understand first how it functions.
Many hackers, myself included, will tell you that as children we took things apart. Driven by a curiosity to understand how technology worked, we learned through examination. This is a cognitive trait that shapes how we look at problems and solve complex issues. This, in my opinion, defines what makes a hacker a hacker.
Hackers and Ideology
Take a look at the interactions of hackers on social media or other forums and you’ll discover hackers are typically very idealistic. While we don’t all have the same values, more often than not, they are all rooted in positive motivations. Street, in his presentation, discussed Nikola Tesla as an early hacker. Tesla had a vision for supplying electricity to the world without cost. He built upon the discoveries of his peers and predecessors to develop new technologies. His inventions drive many of the technologies we’ve become dependent on today. He wanted everyone to take his works and use them and continue to improve them. However, due in part to businessmen with less noble values, Tesla died broke and alone. His inventions tied up with patents that prevented new innovations.
Hackers often look at the internet the same way, with very idealistic vision. Most place a great deal of value on the free exchange of ideas and information while also valuing privacy and individual liberty. Many of us work to make the internet more secure to help ensure that vision. Nowhere is this ideal more clearly displayed than at the various hacker conferences that occur every year. Tens of thousands of hackers come together in various venues around the globe in an effort to share our knowledge, our research, and our opinions on how to improve the technology of the world we live in.
Gate-keeping
Unfortunately, while many in the security community work to promote a more positive image of hackers, there are some who want to perpetuate the stereotypes. They prefer the mystique of clandestine individuals or groups that have the power, because of their skills, to disrupt society and the world. That image of the hacker culture is seen as cool and almost elitist in a way. As a result, some attempt to establish their position in the social order by trying to define who is worthy of being called a hacker. Usually the definition relies solely on the level of their skills or the novelty of the exploits they unearth.
This view is counter-productive to establishing a truly free exchange of ideas and knowledge. It serves to create cliques, toxic competitiveness, and secrecy that break down the ideals. Sure it’s part of where we came from as hackers. Yes, competition can be healthy and productive. But to be truly great as a community, we must be able to build off the work of others. We have to leverage the unique perspectives we each bring to the table and let those drive new ideas. That is how we become l33t.
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