Analysis: The American Perspective On Hackers Essay -- social issues

Analysis The American Perspective On HackersThe issue of public information has always been a contention in our world. One of our countrys founding arguments was based on the necessity of free speech and free information. Many presently believe that our organisation is being overly restrictive on information, blocking and controlling some aspects of free speech that first amendment advocates feel are necessary to maintain our American troupe. These advocates of free information have been using the nickname hackers for over twenty years, but improper use by the media has stretched the word to slanderous levels. Hackers are now stereotyped as mindless vandals and miscreants, although the word hacker has been used as a term for electronic computer programmers and technicians since the late 1970s. Modern-day hackers refer to themselves as quick socio-political activists who want to raise social awareness of threatening problems. Governments worldwide are trying to persecute hackers when vandals, not hackers, are most often the ones breaking laws and causing damage. The conflict between hackers and the American public is a deeply rooted standoff, caused by misinformation and sensationalism from the media and the government. To evaluate and analyze this conflict objectively, both points of view mustiness be put into proper perspective. This was a simple task for me, because I am a very technically oriented person who does not educate lost in the computer jargon used by both the hackers and the political forces. I have worked as a security engineer for tercet Internet Service Providers. I am presently a security programmer at the second-largest private Internet Service Provider in Tampa. To do my job, I must to understand the thoughts and methods of the cyber-delinquents often misnamed as hackers. This experience has given me a strong perspective of both the intruder and victims side. Firstly, prevail the view of the American people. This includes people who do and do not have computers at home, and do not understand their core functions. This group also makes up the majority of the users on the Internet. Most of them are home users with no intentions of understanding the machine they own. They see hackers as being electronic vandals and information thieves, breaking computer networks and ending data. They fear anyone with cyber-power, because they do not un... ... This part of our society has proven that it is unable to accept other individuals and groups who are more intelligent and still believe in our Nations first amendment, out of fear that the rest of the world might evolve around them, without them. Rather than persecute and attack the hackers in our society and in our world, we need to embrace them. They are the people trying their hardest to make a difference in our government and society. They are the ones speaking out as we all should about atrocities, such as the East Timor Massacre in Indonesia seven years ago (http//ww w.2600.com/hacked/). True hackers are not out to destroy things. They want to learn and make a difference in our world. Our society should barricade limiting their potential as human beings and citizens by slandering them. Our society should stop blindly believing stories about them without hearing both sides, as our Government, which is run by We, the People must become educated before creating and enforcing laws. Otherwise, we, as a society, are burying ourselves in ignorant beliefs, disrupting learning and the growth of knowledge. After all, no one can honestly say that they want to live in an ignorant society.