Question:
Describe the characteristics of a typical hacker. Then provide descriptions of six typical types of hackers, based on psychological characteristics.
The different types of hackers that you have to describe and elaborate on in the assignment:
-Pioneers. Individuals who are fascinated by the evolving technology of telecommunications and explore it without knowing exactly what they are going to find are called pioneers; few hard-core criminals are found among this group.
-Scamps. Hackers with a sense of fun, with no intention to harm, are referred to as scamps.
-Explorers. Explorers are hackers motivated by their delight in discoveries associated with breaking into new computer systems—the farther away geographically such systems are from the hackers’ physical locations or the more secure such systems are, the greater the excitement associated with breaking into them.
-Game players. Game players enjoy defeating software or system copy protection and may seek to illegally access computer systems with games to play. Hacking itself becomes a game for this sort of hacker.
-Vandals. Malicious hackers who deliberately cause damage with no apparent gain for themselves are called vandals. The original 414 Gang in Milwaukee, which broke into the Sloan-Kettering Cancer Institute’s computers and wiped out patient records, is an example of this type of hacker.
-Addicts. Classic computer nerds who are addicted to hacking and to computer technology are addicts. They may also be addicted to illicit drugs (some hacker bulletin board systems post information on drugs as well as on modems, passwords, and vulnerable systems)
