As the world enters the 21st century, changes are being made throughout society. A minor change would be an obvious rise in industrial and home computer usage. Consequently, there has been a rise in hackers, in fact "there are more hackers today than ever before (Platt 153)." Due to hackers and hacking activity, changes have been made in both the handling of electronic information and the laws governing computer security.
In light of the ever-growing computer trend, the title "hacker" has practically become a household word. Yet the connotations can range from an idealized, computer expert to an internet junkie, running from the law. To define a true hacker one must simply examine their motives and Klein Associates, a research firm who has been commissioned by the U.S. military to study the psychology of hackers, has done just that. Mike McCloskey of Klein Associates says, "Hackers have an inherent interest in technology" (Koerner 53). And more importantly, "[Hackers] don't like the idea that information is private," says Terry Stanard also from Klein Associates (53). Hackers all share the same view on this matter, and Stewart Brand, founder of the Whole Earth Catalogue, probably said it best when he said, "Information just wants to be free (Platt 11)." If one were to take this viewpoint and apply it to the usage of computers, they would get the hacker ethic. The hacker ethic is simple: information should be freely shared and systems should be freely accessible, so long as no damage is done (Platt 41). Klein Associates" research actually finds that most hackers lack malicious intent (Koerner 53). This shows that most hackers actually stick to the hacking ethic. Money is not even a driving factor among the hacker community. "Financial gain is rarely on the mind of hackers, many of whom are too young to dream of purchasing anything grander than a compact disc (53)." Yet there are those who call themselves hackers that actually do damage to computer systems and profit from stolen information.