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Hackers and Ethics; sometimes a contradiction in terms.
2007.05.13. 08:32
 I found 2 very interesting posts about hacking,-´Hackers and Ethics´ at fellow xangans site. Here they are :
I started "hacking" a long long time ago. I remember sitting with my Atari 800xl and a
300 baud modem. I hacked into a BBS that was passworded (security was pretty lame
back then) and just looked around. I didn't hurt anything and left a little note for the
sysadmin. Today he is a very good friend of mine. I didn't hurt anything, I didn't put up
the monikers of today stating "eye haxor3d ewe, ewe 4r3 l4m3 bi0tch3s." Just said, here
is what I did, and hope you didn't mind too much. This was my first realization of
"hackers ethics".
When you look at the guys who hack for recognition or notoriety, they can still be ethical
hackers. Let me take an example here. Bronc, as everyone knows, is my friend. The
hack he did against the Chinese made a powerful statement. Will it help the people he
wrote about? Perhaps. Will it harm them in any way? Doubtful. He said what he said
with a minimum of fanfare, but like me, he called it as he saw it, I can respect that. Did
he do it for some recognition for himself? Perhaps, but the issue of human rights was the
important thing. You want to know his driving motivation? Ask him, he will probably
tell you.
I have had, and still have the privilege of knowing and befriending some of the finest,
most talented hackers on the face of the earth. The truly great ones, from groups like
LoU, L0pht, HDC, Technotronic, cDc, Rhino9, and many many more, they don't go and
hack stuff and take it down or hurt it, and they certainly don't leave their names virtually
assuring closer scrutiny from watchdog groups. The people I refer to do it for the thrill of
the chase, the rush of the kill, and the freedom of knowledge gained from their "holy
quest". They are the ones that help us to discover that our software is not perfect, and
when they help us to get patched, or to find a way to get Microsoft to step up to the plate
and fix their errors, we should be thankful that they exist. For if they didn't, it would
allow people I classify as "unethical hackers", and you probably call scumbags, to run free
removing money from our checking accounts and canceling our drivers licenses.
All our lives we are taught that to lie, cheat and steal is wrong. And yet give some people
a computer and they forget all that they have learned. I have had many people decide
that they would attack my friends or me just because they don't like me, or were banned
from my channel, or they are just too elite for me. Who is to judge what one person
knows, and another does not. But they attack just the same. They will get peoples phone
numbers and call their houses at all hours of the night, tell others that they are pedophiles,
and rapists, and whatever other lies they figure will hurt that person. I am still unable to
understand why. Even when I was that age, full of rage at a world that "didn't
understand me" I didn't go out and intentionally hurt people just for my own personal
enjoyment. I believe that is called sadism, and is a psychosis. The irony is that I always
give people chances. I try to get them to talk it out. When I ask, why are you mad at me?
What have I done to you?? They usually don't answer, perhaps because they don't know.
They are angry young men, and we become the victims. These are the people that give
the word "hacker" a bad connotation. If we had less of this type of hacker, and more of
the "hunter of free information" we would be far better off. Yes I have used myself as
an example here as I know that subject the best :=)
One of the members of my group, Active Matrix, has a great site, and a code of ethics to
live by. I quote:
"Never intentionally delete or damage a file on a computer you hack.
Treat systems you hack as you would treat your own computer.
Notify system administrators about any security breaches you encounter.
Do not hack to steal money.
Do not distribute or collect pirated software.
Never take stupid risks - know your own abilities.
Always be willing to freely share and teach what you know."
This is a pared down and more manageable version of what I started with in 1988, from
the mentor, that everyone should read. It is here
http://www.hackers.com/texts/neos/hackbeg.txt
Hacking is illegal, but so is driving 56 in a 55. If you don't hurt anyone, or
anything, chances are people will not go after you. The word "hacker" is in itself a
contradiction in terms. The ones who really matter, the elite, aren't after fame for fame's
sake. They have a message, and hacking is their vehicle. We should all thank them, they
have made our lives a bit safer, perhaps.
written by RLoxley
" I don't buy it.
These days, the only reason to 'hack' into any computer network is to cheat the system somehow... whether it's gaining access to something you have no business having access to, or getting some service that you would normally pay for, for free... Perhaps to deface a website... Or to get notoriety for yourself... I dunno. I can't think of a legitimate reason to hack past xyz firewall. Security measures are there for a reason, to keep people out, to keep HACKERS out.
Not to mention, the government takes hacking (in any form) seriously now. In the 80's, there wasn't much legislation in the books regarding hacking or computer crime. These days you can get into some serious trouble. You could be labeled a terrorist and thrown in jail. Not sure whether this is good or bad, but it is at least true.
quote:
"Never intentionally delete or damage a file on a computer you hack.
Treat systems you hack as you would treat your own computer.
Notify system administrators about any security breaches you encounter.
Do not hack to steal money.
Do not distribute or collect pirated software.
Never take stupid risks - know your own abilities.
Always be willing to freely share and teach what you know."
This is nonsense.
"But officer, look here at my code of ethics. I may have a loaded gun, and I may have formulated and executed the perfect plan to rob this bank, but I was never actually going to steal anything! I'm just in this for the thrill! Look. As you can see on line 4: i am not to hack to steal money, and i wasn't actually going to damage (or shoot) any property or people in this bank, as is dictated on line 1. And hey, if you let me off, I'll share my methods for robbing banks with the world so that everyone can benefit from the knowledge!!"
The government won't buy a code of ethics. The cops won't buy a code of ethics. Your principal or dean is not going to buy a code of ethics. Your IT guy is not going to buy a code of ethics. Ethics are no good when you've already broken the law, and just because you don't see it as breaking the law doesn't mean that the court won't.
Personally, I think it's time for people to give up their idealistic views of 'hacking', whether they see it as a noble quest for knowledge or as some kind of interesting puzzle or anything else. Hacking is a dangerous thing, and people who think otherwise will soon learn that the puzzle they opened actually belongs to a woman named Pandora.
If you want to be a true-to-form Hacker, here's what you can do: Write a useful program that can be used for the common good, or contribute a feature to an existing one. While you're at it, release it under the GPL, package it and submit it to Slackware or Debian or [insert distro here]. Or, you can man forums such as Linuxquestions.org and help people solve their problems. I mean, just think how things would be different if hackers turned their energies towards the common good rather than wasting time defacing websites, gaining personal status, or just getting a thrill.
ps. it could be argued that hackers are necessary to discover and patch security flaws in programs, but in reality, very few so-called 'hackers' actually look for exploits within code. Most people who call themselves hackers actually just use the exploit code to break into systems. The 0.01% of 'hackers' who actually do exploit discovery are usually paid researchers. So, if you are not one of these people then you can't justify yourself with this argument. "
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AJÁNLOM AZ OLDALT
