The Computer Hacker Ethic: Honor Among Thieves or Civil Disobedience Codified?

Computer hackers have a code of ethics. Who would have thunk it? There is actually an unofficial and very loosely defined set of values and mores shared by those computer users who spend their time cracking security programs intended to keep other people out of your private computer records. This is known as the Hacker Ethic. The foundation upon which the computer hacker ethic thrives is the basic core belief in freedom of all information. Secondarily is the principle that computer access should not be impaired.

As most Americans outside the Bush White House intuitively understand, sharing information is positive way more often than not. That's not to say that some information shouldn't be kept from some people, but no information should be kept from everybody. The hacker ethic posits the notion that computer code should be written to allow ease of access to information under almost all circumstances. Another ideal that is not quite as strictly adhered to is that hacking should not result in exposing confidential information or to steal from another computer user. Obviously, not all hackers are fully committed to all aspects of the ethic.

If Thomas Paine were alive today, he might well be a computer hacker. The thrust of the ethic is to facilitate movement toward a more democratic world in which those who have information are forced to share it with those who do not. An extreme example of what the hacker ethic is fighting for can be seen in the tightly controlled access to information on the internet in China. (With a tremdendous dosing of help from the weasels at Yahoo.) Another example might be hacking into the email account of former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to find out whether he really was totally detached from the daily operations taking place inside his own office or whether he's just a big fat liar like his boss. The hacker ethic from this perspective may be seen from the view of freedom fighters who throw tea off a boat or blow up a government security complex; they are struggling to release the constraints that stand between people and useful information.