Everyone Is A Hacker In Training

An anonymous reader writes "Michal Zalewski was recently interviewed by O'Reilly's Onlamp. During the interview, he stated a belief that hacking is a state of mind. From the article: 'I don't think that (good) hackers have any special, hardwired mental abilities or specific personality traits, and I do believe you can easily learn to think like a hacker, even when you come from a different background.'" The interview goes on to discuss the overall need for better security in protocols and communications.

Comments

He's partially right

[coflow]

Hacking is a state of mind, but not in the typical sense of the word hacker. This book defines hacker as one who delights in solving problems in interesting ways, and I think *that* is a state of mind more than breaking into someone else's machine.

Re:He's partially right

[DigiShaman]

When people hear the term "Hacker" the public often associates it when computer geeks/nerds that wish to do harm. While it's really sad to see this word bastardized, I find that most enthusiasts are hackers regardless of their craft.

Case in point. If you really want to see a hacker that covers a broad spectrum of science, mathematics, and physics...look no further then your modern day performance auto tuner. Not only will you see them physically modify the engine, but often they will reprogram the computer to reflect the physical changes made.