Computer Crime in the Global Village: Strategies for Control and Regulation — in Defence of the Hacker

Cracking the Code: An Empirical Exploration of Social Learning Theory and Computer Crime

“…Hacking is sometimes seen as one of an assortment of activities classified as computer crime but generally refers to the act of gaining unauthorized access to a computer or other electronic devices (Duff and Gardiner, 1996;Turgeman-Goldschmidt, 2005). Current public perception of hacking is negative and is often thought of in terms of computer viruses and the stealing of private information (i.e., social security numbers, bank information, etc.)…”

“…Hackers are usually young adults, under the age of 25, with no prior offenses (Ball, 1985;Duff and Gardiner, 1996;Hollinger, 1993;Sterling, 1993;Turgeman-Goldschmidt, 2005; for an exception see Harrington, 1989). Further, the majority of hackers are white individuals from middle-to upperclass backgrounds (Hollinger, 1993;Hollinger and Lanza-Kaduce, 1988;Raymond, 2003;Schell and Dodge, 2002;Sterling, 1993;Turgeman-Goldschmidt, 2005).…”

“…These individuals hack to advance the capability of technology and to be challenged through solving puzzles (Schell and Dodge, 2002). On the other hand are malicious hackers; those involved in destructive behaviors (Duff and Gardiner, 1996;Leeson and Coyne, 2006). These "black hat" hackers are commonly referred to as crackers by the computer underground (Stallman, 2002) and are the individuals involved in activities such as the creation and use of viruses and worms, breaching secure networks, as well as theft of information and money.…”

“…Possessing its own code of ethics that has developed and changed over the generations, this subculture is able to define what behaviors are deemed acceptable (Duff and Gardiner, 1996). Jordan and Taylor (1998) noted that hackers are rewarded through peer recognition of their work and acceptance into the hacker community.…”

“…Hackers have often been compared to, or have been equated to the middle-class equivalent of, street gangs (Duff and Gardiner, 1996) or joyriders (Chandler, 1996). This analogy is interesting from a social learning perspective as studies on delinquency and delinquent groups, specifically gangs, have supported social learning principles (Akers, 1998;Battin et al, 1998;Winfree et al, 1994).…”