Subculture "hackers": features and history

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:41

At the turn of the XX-XXI centuries, humanity has experienced a large-scale revolution in the field of mass communications. The creation of the World Wide Web contributed to the emergence of such a unique phenomenon as the Internet space. The development of new technologies has led to the emergence of a special subculture of hackers, specialists involved in the development, study and implementation of computer innovations.

History of occurrence

Today, information has not only a cognitive function, but is also a powerful instrument of manipulation, a means to achieve any goals. With the growing importance of the Internet in the life of all mankind, people have appeared who seek to delve deeper and more specifically into the technical issues of programming and the hidden possibilities of the World Wide Web.

To understand the goals and objectives of this social group, first you need to understand in more detail what the "hackers" subculture is. It is difficult to answer this question briefly, becausethe community is quite specific and closed to the majority. Although this phenomenon is not so new, since the beginning of the era of scientific research, there have always been people who strive to be pioneers, to find new technologies and ways to apply them.

The "hackers" subculture, whose year of organization is very difficult to name, arose as a narrow community of advanced figures seeking to get to know and understand the system more deeply, to be able to change and control it. In the 1980s, programmers experienced the rise of their movement, their work was aimed at creating and improving new technologies. Many of them turned out to be true enthusiasts, promoting free internet and universal access to all resources.

However, with the growing role of the media in the social, economic and political life of the country, with the advent of limitless opportunities in the Internet space, the nature of the actions of programmers is also changing. The era of online scams, cyberattacks and terrorism begins.

Definition

The emergence of personal computers was the starting point for the emergence of a movement that can now be called "youth subculture" hackers "". The translation of this definition from English has no analogues in Russian, the verb to hack in the usual sense means “hack”, “shred”, and in relation to the field of information technology - “hack the system” or “patch it”. It all depends on the line of business.

There are several understandings of what a subculture is"hackers". In English, as well as in Russian, the word has many meanings, and all of them reflect one or another side of the specifics of their work. A general definition can be formulated as follows:

this is a person who is fond of and enjoys the study of the details of software systems;
strives to explore the maximum of technological possibilities;
one who is an expert and enthusiastic in his work;
loving to find answers to the intellectual problems of the system.

Unfortunately, in recent years, the youth subculture "hackers" is perceived as a community of criminals who obtain confidential information or steal money from people's accounts. Crackers (as unscrupulous programmers are called) are really much more numerous, the temptation of quick and easy money is too great.

Views

Despite the dissimilarity of development processes in comparison with other cultural strata of society, the subculture "hackers" has all the signs of social differentiation, has its own traditions, language, behavior, manifesto and its own ideology. So, Eric Raymond, a programmer and movement activist, is also the compiler and editor of an encyclopedic dictionary, which contains all the data about their special slang.

In this environment there is a clear structure, the status of a cracker depends on his reputation, and the assessment can only be accepted from his equal or more advanced operators. They are usually distinguished according tomotives of activity: the so-called Black hat and White hat. White hats are engaged in researching the system, identifying weaknesses and then fixing the problem, while black hats, or crackers, carry out unauthorized hacking of the system, steal information or money, and also create malicious programs - viruses.

The latter are none other than common criminals, only the environment and methods of theft change. At the moment, in all countries of the world, severe punitive measures are being taken against such persons.

Features of perception

At the beginning of the twenty-first century, there are scientific works aimed at studying what the "hackers" subculture is. Briefly, the following can be said about them: research is devoted to finding the problems of a new era of high technologies, studying the impact of this culture on society and young people. This interest is not accidental, most teenagers perceive hackers as a kind of pirates, heroes who can do something unimaginable with a wave of their hand.

The world of technology is a rather closed structure, especially since the terminology and communication style of system operators are incomprehensible to ordinary people. Therefore, society presents them based on stereotypes about what the "hackers" subculture is. Clothes, hairstyles, manner of speaking and their other habits are known to us only conditionally, so the most incredible conjectures are born.

In the view of many, a programmer issome nondescript, unkempt young man, a virgin and a loser in real life, spending all day at the computer. His strength and knowledge are concentrated in the digital world, where he can be both a great seer and a big swindler.

Internet as a social medium

The "hackers" subculture began to actively develop and develop its own principles with the advent and global spread of the World Wide Web. The causes of this phenomenon are economic, political and social. For many people, the Internet has become a place where they can show their abilities, arrange life and find self-determination.

If at the dawn of computers, tellers worked on improving bulky computers, then at the end of the 20th - beginning of the 21st century. their activities have completely moved to the virtual world. Now there is a subculture "hackers", and its representatives operate with large information and intellectual resources and actively use the Internet space for their own needs.

The World Wide Web is becoming more and more like a social reality. There are political, economic, legal and spiritual spheres here, where people receive information and even work. Every year, virtual reality is replenished with new residents and becomes more geographically widespread.

Value Attitudes

This community is quite fragmented and, most importantly, conspiratorial. Their slogans, rules and laws are notmandatory, but some of them nevertheless became the general principles of the movement. Value attitudes were formulated by the first ideologists Stephen Levy, L. Blankenship, E. Raymond, the main provisions that the "hackers" subculture promotes and strives for are as follows:

unrestricted access to computers;
free information on the web;
fight against control from one center;
indifference to skin color and religion;
declaration of thinking outside the box;
release programs available to all;
help those who need technical support;
transfer of knowledge and skills;
computers can change lives for the better.

Many statements echo the hippie slogans proclaiming peace and freedom in everything. But it is worth noting that some famous programmers really adhered to these rules, for example, Linus Torvalds developed the free Linux operating system, and Richard Stallman devoted almost half of his life to promoting the idea of free software. You can often find campaign documents and photos of hackers on the Web: the original manifesto, emblems, magazines and other information.

Lifestyle, clothing style

If among rappers, emo, hippies, etc., clothing style is an important distinguishing factor, a way of self-expression, then other signs of identification have been established among software connoisseurs. The main thing is to gain a personal reputation, because everyone strives to show hisindividuality and not be led by stereotypes or fashion.

Most of the time they spend in the virtual world, which is largely reflected in the appearance and habits of people who identify themselves as followers of the community called "subculture hackers". The manner of dressing corresponds to several principles - convenience, freedom and reliability. Therefore, in principle, it is impossible to single out any special detail that emphasizes a person's belonging to this community.

Those who want to attract attention often use T-shirts with catchy inscriptions or pictures. Most often, they contain a specific idea that the hacker subculture adheres to. The style of clothing does not emphasize the nuances of the work, but, on the contrary, makes the hacker an ordinary person.

Features of communication

Despite the stereotype that crackers spend most of their time aimlessly behind a computer screen, they are very well-read and educated people. The range of their interests is wide, but most often associated with scientific and technical literature. In this environment, there is a special tradition of conversation. The subculture "hackers", which in English means "cut in", "hack", suggests using only terminology, phrases, expressions and graphic signs that are understandable to its representatives.

In this environment, it is very fashionable to have an additional occupation or hobby, sometimes radically different from the main activity: music, theater, computer games, radio, constructing machines or usefulappliances.

The subculture of hackers and its features are also shown by the example of their communication with each other and with other people. Psychologists who study the personal qualities of representatives of this profession note some common features for most of them: almost all of them are rather closed, live in their own world, therefore they are very reserved towards people and can rarely understand and share the emotional state of another person.

Personal Features

The youth structure of hackers is very difficult to study, its representatives are individualists by nature, they try to develop their own views on life, they are rarely influenced by others. Most of these people have a very good education, and the nature of their professions is very different: from linguists to mathematicians. And the reason for their passion for high technology is most often dissatisfaction with the knowledge gained, the search for non-standard solutions to problems.

The specifics of the work requires the programmer not only to have high intelligence, but also good memory - the ability to quickly memorize and, if necessary, extract certain knowledge. A strong incentive for them is money and recognition, but most of all the excitement is the search for solutions to complex and interesting problems.

Features of work

Anyone who considers himself a good connoisseur of computer systems cannot be called an IT-technologist. These people are true professionals in their field, and they have been achieving the necessary authority for years. The details of their work are very difficult to find out, largely due to the difficulty of understanding by uninitiated people, and also due to the secrecy of some projects.

Celebrity hackers - Kevin Poulsen, Kevin Mitnick, Julian Assange and Chris Kasperki - after the end of their careers as hackers willingly shared their knowledge and experience with society, tried to warn young people from mistakes and criminal moves. It was the founders of the movement who created a special ethics and principles of "adventure and discovery" (or "do no harm"). Unfortunately, the new generation of programmers are often self-taught, who came into the profession for quick money or loud fame.

Many large organizations seek to have such an employee on or off staff, since no economic, political or cultural activity is possible today without the use of high technology in their work.

Legal Trouble

On the part of society and the state, a very straightforward assessment of the activities of high-tech specialists has developed, very often members of this fraternity are considered potential criminals. Although the latter have their own arguments, according to which unused computer resources are not considered the property of others. Therefore, in every country they try to think over and organize the legal system of punishment.

In Russia, there are several articles for cybercrime, including fraud, distribution of pornographic materials, unauthorized access or creation and implementation of malicious programs.

Periodicity

There are severalgenerations of the hacker movement, of course, only "white" figures are taken into account:

community pioneers worked on the creation of computers, they were employees of computer institutes, intellectuals and enthusiasts trying to realize their crazy and ambitious plans;
at the end of the 1970s, they actively introduced personal computers into life, improved software;
in the 1980s, all major programs and networks were created, and also at that time the values and the principles to be followed were formulated;
The current generation of hackers are successfully mastering cyberspace, trying to prevent global control over the entire Internet.

Thus, it can be noted that the development of this subculture occurs as part of the improvement of computer technology, these two phenomena are completely interconnected.

Celebrities

As in any culture, hackers have their own leaders, experts and legends, their lives and work become methodological material for novice programmers. At the dawn of the development of computer technology, they were still driven by the interest of discoverers, the idea of search for adventure and new solutions.

One of the first creators of a malicious virus was Robert Morris, in 1988 the “Morris worm” paralyzed hundreds of computers, later he was charged for this violation. Already in the 2000s, Adrian Lamo successfully found bugs in the security systems of large Internet companies, although many still consider him onlygreat PR man.

McKinnon Gary became the most notorious hacker of recent decades, he managed to penetrate the systems of NASA and the Pentagon, he also justified himself by saying that he wanted to get information about the concealment by the US government of the facts of contact with extraterrestrial civilizations. This community is quite narrow, all the figures are familiar with each other, and you can easily find a joint photo of hackers on the Internet.

Some of them devoted their lives not only to programming problems, they expressed an active public position through social networks or writing. Julian Assaj published a book about the life and work of hackers ten years ago. He also became famous for exposing the top-secret information of many countries on the pages of the Wikileaks website he created.

Scandals

The modern generation perceives burglars as pirates, noble robbers fighting the system and world domination. Unfortunately, this manifesto sometimes hides people with far from benevolent intentions. The so-called crackers, or malicious hackers, practice in various areas of criminal activity, from simple fraud and obtaining secret information to the destruction of entire systems.

Very often hackers are at the center of major public scandals: naked photos of celebrities, exposing the biographies of famous politicians, throwing inaccurate information on the Web - this is an incomplete list of the robbery actions of unscrupulous programmers. Now everyone is hearing the story about the Russian trace in the issue of holding elections in the United States. Allegedlyour specialists, under the guise of the government, interfered in the American election campaign and thereby directly helped the election of Donald Trump. No evidence has been presented so far, but the scandal has flared up all over the world.

Images in art

The subculture "hackers" is very specific and does not fit the usual criteria and assessments, it is very difficult to give a complete and comprehensive description of this movement, although attempts at psychological and sociocultural study have occurred repeatedly. The influence of the community extends not only to the sphere of high technologies, but also to the cultural environment.

In the novels of famous writers you can find similar themes, for example, in Vernor Vigi's book "Deep in the Sky" or in the epigraph to "The Labyrinth of Reflections" by Sergei Lukyanenko. But most often, former hackers such as Chris Kaspersky, Julian Assange, Kevin Mitnick and Bruce Schneier wrote about the fate of programmers. Based on some of the works, films were later made, the “Network” and “Hackers”, released in 1995, “The Social Network”, “The Fifth Power” and many others became especially popular. In Hollywood action films, to one degree or another, there is a theme of hacking computer networks, manipulating ordinary users, etc.

Old school hackers are now actively reclaiming their community's lost credibility by calling crackers, pirates, phishers and other crackers common criminals. But the “white hats” should and can work on further creation andimproving the digital space.