Hackers and Computer Security

An increasing number of hackers in the late eighties were no longer satisfied with simply looking around at computers and their information security systems. Many were using their skills for more criminal pursuits. The distribution of pirated software and games was commonplace. Some of the early hackers who were strongly against damaging the systems they broke into, felt that a new generation had entered the scene, a generation that cared little for the principle of freedom of technology but were rather more interested in individual profit. True hackers began to separate themselves from what they termed crackers: a more derogatory term to identify this new group of hackers with more malicious intentions. However, this distinction has never been taken up by the media.