hActivision

The subculture of hacking is no doubt something incredibly foreign for me. Although I’ve had the privilege of growing up completely immersed in technology, in-particularly the internet. The extent of my hacking capabilities lie within the parameters of resetting the password to the Apple ID of geriatrics who frequently over stay their welcome at my work. It blows their mind no doubt that I can enable entry level access to an account completely ACCOUNTable for majority of the inconveniences present within my job; I even find myself wiping my forehead after these instances – even then, there are interfaces present to aid in facilitating access. The fact that hacking as a practice was an accessible pursuit. Subculture entrance required the prospective hacker, prove themselves in an Animal House situation, just without the toga.(Worth noting I’ll probably hacked for comparing the subculture of hacking with fraternities).

This was because of the ethos of the hackers; anarchy – as a product of the anarchic state of the internet when hacking emerged in the 1980s. Hackers had a complete disregard for hierarchy and its this very disregard that allowed the skill levels of hackers to grow. the social capital was based upon reciprocity; how much a hacker’s equity they’d be willing to forfeit in exchange for acceptance – the exchange of information to increase the level of skill. The turn over of this occurrence through a rapid feedback loop was also influential in the rapid development of competences. and as a result the practice of hacking became self-perpetual. A hive mind ecosystem operating as a single entity. Eventually this excessive generosity within the community led to its demise caused by government intervention. The intervention was primarily fuelled by precaution. Hackers had unparalleled ability to breach secure domains. They abide by a code of ethics therefore the practice of hacking is relatively innocuous; However, due to the self-perpetual growth of the subculture, concerns obviously can be formed.

In 2014, certain iCloud accounts were hacked and and 500 sensitive images of celebrities were disseminated through 4chan, then eventually Reddit and Imgur. It was primarily a product of the limited security harboured by Apple’s iCloud – primarily surround the notion of account Recovery access. The result was completely defamatory for the effected individuals, however it also raised questions regarding the level of uncertainty surrounding how protective are these entities that we invest significant trust within as well as with the calibre of hackers that trawl online, what else are they capable of? “We explore…and you call us criminals. We seek after knowledge…and you call us criminals.” this extract from Conscience of a Hacker [1986] provides some insight into the moral governing of the hacking subculture. It would be interesting to see if these notions are sustained contemporarily. However, I believe the spiritual successors to the L0D and cDc that take the form of Edward Snowden and Julian Assange perpetuate the hacker ethos.

September 30, 2016October 21, 2016 by sillyyaks Categories: DIGC202 1 Comment