Stealing the Network: How to Own an Identity

CHAPTER 5 BI@ckToW3r

By Brian Hatch as Glenn

I have no idea if Charles is a hacker. Or rather, I know he’s a hacker; I just don’t know if he wears a white or black hat.

Anyone with mad skills is a hacker—hacker is a good word: it describes an intimate familiarity with how computers work. But it doesn’t describe how you apply that knowledge, which is where the old white-hat / black-hat bit comes from, I still prefer using “hacker” and “cracker,” rather than hat color. If you’re hacking, you’re doing something cool, ingenious, for the purposes of doing it. If you’re cracking, then you’re trying to get access to resources that aren’t yours. Good versus bad. Honorable versus dishonest.

Unfortunately, I am not a hacker. Nor am I a cracker. I’ve got ...