The Hacker Code of Ethics
Cyber-terrorists were once hackers, and maybe that’s why the media treat them like that. But if they were, why are not they anymore?
Every hacker has a strict code of ethics, where he tries to always differentiate between right and wrong, from the moment that code is ignored and his actions become destructive, that individual can no longer be considered a hacker by the community.
To better understand this code of ethics knows the three pillars in the hacker community: Collaboration, Knowledge, Freedom.
A hacker who stood out and is considered one of the most excellent hackers of the twentieth century, Richard Stallman, his ethics is based on the three pillars, which were also the basis for the creation of the Free Software Foundation, Copyleft, and free software.
When a hacker loses his ethics, we move into a sub-division of this narrow hierarchy. Many are imagining that he will be turning into a Cracker, but it is not so, even within the hacker classification there are two sub-types, while we can call someone hacker he is a white hat, he uses his ethics as a guide. When a hacker loses this ethic he is considered a black hat, in that case, he uses his knowledge and his unique way of thinking without using any code of ethics, performing actions for his benefit, espionage or even fun.
Crackers are people in the hacker community who specialize in code-breaking, those who break password hashes and program protection keys.
In the community, we also have the so-called Social Engineer who uses non-technical means to obtain privileged information. He is usually a master at deceiving and deceiving people.
Scammers: Fraud, which uses some flaws common programs such as IE and a bit of social engineering to send lay users to fake sites with the goal of capturing access passwords etc.
Script Kiddie: This guy has no in-depth knowledge or defined targets. Uses the internet for scripts ready to make their attacks. For kiddies, what matters is the number of sites that invade, not the quality. Thus, they “scratch” thousands of websites every day, changing significant web pages of some small business, sometimes actually accessing essential files.
Defacer: Script Kiddie that only cares about replacing the main page of any website.
Lammer: Script Kiddie with little knowledge, but posing as a “technology guru.” These are up in the IT market.
When it comes to hacker ethics and history, I always get two pictures:
Cathedral Method
- Ken Thompson and Dennis Ritchie (Unix)
- Donald E. Knuth (TeX, MetaFont)
- Richard Stallman (GNU Project, FSF, GPL license, gcc, emacs, …)
Bazaar Method
- Linus Torvalds, inventor, and first Linux kernel implementer
- Bruce Parens, one of the first coordinators of the Debian project
For all lovers of information security, here is must-read: https://bit.ly/14JwODI
From the year 1980 to the present day, the internet has evolved very, very fast. Today it is possible to have access to quality information quickly. Just a matter of decision, about what you want for your life. I found some great free courses here at Cybrary. This is fantastic!
This article is for beginners and curious. For beginners, I recommend doing some basic courses in the Security area.
Here are some links that came to mind when writing this blog:
- Chaos Computer Club – https://www.ccc.de/en/
- 414s – http://www.the414s.com/
Security Conferences:
- https://www.defcon.org
- https://www.blackhat.com
Videos:
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8NPllzkFhE
Fun:
