I admit it. I’m fascinated by hacking and hacktivism. (For the record, I’m not interested in hacking, just in watching the hackfest play out. That said, I do wish I’d figured out how to make my computer available to facilitate communication during the Arab Spring.)
Not to date myself, but I read the Cuckoo’s Egg when it came out in 1989. I loved War Games. I find the ways that hackers collaborate to tweak oppressive regimes a hoot.
But another thing that fascinates me is the moral justification (or lack thereof) for hackers. Hacking is kind of funny when it exposes the trite pathos of despots. And poking holes in the holes of major multinational companies? They seem so impermeable, it is nice to see some penetration.
But what if you don’t dislike the target? Or if innocent people are hurt? The ethics of hacking/hacktivism depend on this. Some hacktivists claim to be working for the greater good — a 21st century form of activism. Some just don’t care — or they care about some abstract notion of free info, regardless of who it hurts. And some hack for profit.
Hacking is a microcosm of life. Fascinating.