
If Hackers Didn't Exist, Governments Would Have to Invent Them - evo_9
http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/07/if-hackers-didnt-exist-governments-would-have-to-invent-them/259463/
======
david_shaw
_> The hackers who dominate news coverage and popular culture -- malicious,
adolescent techno-wizards, willing and able to do great harm to innocent
civilians and society at large -- don't exist_

Okay, look. I'll agree that the media, as with most issues, spreads fear,
uncertainty, and doubt about computer hackers out to wreak havoc. That said,
capitalizing on this "myth" and claiming that these malicious hackers don't
exist is flat-out wrong.

I'll be honest and admit that I skimmed the rest of the article after this
point. It only takes looking at the arrests made re: the LulzSec hackers and
the stunts they pulled off to know that saying that these people don't exist
is a falsehood designed to get readers interested. For me, it didn't work.

Look at Anonymous hackers on Twitter, or the AnonOps IRC channel if you want
to see some real nefarious youths.

We should take media coverage designed to scare us with a pinch of salt, but
we also shouldn't rest on our laurels that "oh, these threats don't exist."
They do.

