Hackers Leap from Dark Basements to World Stage

y AFP on October 10, 2014
 
Hackers are shaking off their reputations as nerdy, loner basement dwellers and rebranding themselves on the world stage as members of Internet age tribes with offbeat codes of conduct and capricious goals.
Clans of hackers such as Anonymous, LulzSec and Lizard Squad have caused havoc -- and made news -- in recent years, but the legacy of the online community stretches back decades.
"People think of hackers as non-social people who live in the basement; that is not true at all," said Nico Sell, chief executive of the encrypted messaging service Wickr and the longtime organizer of the DEF CON hacking conference.
"To be good at hacking, you have to understand how society and people work. These geeks are not your normal geeks."
 
Rebels united by their hacking prowess and identified by sassy pseudonyms have been divided into "white hat" groups that use software skills for good and their "black hat" rivals intent on anything from pranks and political upheaval to espionage or crimes of profit.
Hackers share their stories and skills at forums like DEF CON and in Internet chat venues such an privacy-guarding 4Chan, according to Gabriella Coleman, who holds the Wolfe Chair in Scientific and Technological Literacy at McGill University in Canada
 
 
SecurityWeek/ Article/ http://www.securityweek.com/hackers-leap-dark-basements-world-stage