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For many years, the media has erroneously applied the
word hacker when it really means cracker. So the common public now believes that
a hacker is someone who breaks into computer systems. This is untrue and does a
disservice to some of the most talented hackers.
There
are some traditional tests to determine the difference between hackers and
crackers. In order of their acceptance. Firstly, the general definitions of each
term. This will provide a basis for the remaining portion of this chapter. Those
definitions are as
Ø
A hacker
is a person intensely interested in the arcane and recondite workings of any
computer operating system. Most often, hackers are programmers. As such, hackers
obtain advanced knowledge of operating systems and programming languages. They
may know of holes within systems and the reasons for such holes. Hackers
constantly seek further knowledge, freely share what they have discovered, and
never, ever intentionally damage data.
Ø
A cracker
is a person who breaks into or otherwise violates the system integrity of remote
machines, with malicious intent. Crackers, having gained unauthorized access,
destroy vital data, deny legitimate users service, or basically cause problems
for their targets. Crackers can easily be identified because their actions are
malicious.
The better way to distinguish these individuals would
be to understand their motivations and their ways of life. Starting with the
hacker.
To understand the mind-set of the hacker, it is
necessary to know what they do. To explain that, a brief discussion on computer
languages.
A
computer language is any set of libraries or instructions that, when properly
arranged and compiled, can constitute a functional computer program. The
building blocks of any given computer language never fundamentally change.
Therefore, each programmer walks to his or her keyboard and begins with the same
basic tools as his or her fellows. Examples of such tools include
Ø
Language
libraries--These are pre-made functions that perform common actions that are
usually included in any computer program (routines that read a directory, for
example). They are provided to the programmer so that he or she can concentrate
on other, less generic aspects of a computer program.
Ø
Compilers--These
are software programs that convert the programmer's written code to an
executable format, suitable for running on this or that platform.
The programmer is given nothing more than languages
(except a few manuals that describe how these tools are to be used). It is
therefore up to the programmer what happens next. The programmer programs to
either learn or create, whether for profit or not. This is a useful function,
not a wasteful one. Throughout these processes of learning and creating, the
programmer applies one magical element that is absent within both the language
libraries and the compiler: imagination. That is the programmer's existence in a
nutshell.
Modern
hackers, however, reach deeper still. They probe the system, often at a
microcosmic level, finding holes in software and snags in logic. They write
programs to check the integrity of other programs. Thus, when a hacker creates a
program that can automatically check the security structure of a remote machine,
this represents a desire to better what now exists. It is creation and
improvement through the process of analysis.
In contrast, crackers rarely write their own
programs. Instead, they beg, borrow, or steal tools from others. They use these
tools not to improve Internet security, but to subvert it. They have technique,
perhaps, but seldom possess programming skills or imagination. They learn all
the holes and may be exceptionally talented at practicing their dark arts, but
they remain limited. A true cracker creates nothing and destroys much. His chief
pleasure comes from disrupting or otherwise adversely effecting the computer
services of others.
This is the division of hacker and cracker. Both are
powerful forces on the Internet, and both will remain permanently. Sometimes ,
it may happen that some individuals may qualify for both.