Hacker Business Models

wiredmikey writes "The industrialized hackers are intent on one goal — making money. They also know the basic rules of the business of increasing revenues while cutting costs. As hackers started making money, the field became full of 'professionals' that inspired organized cyber crime. Similar to industrial corporations, hackers have developed their own business models in order to operate as a profitable organization. What do these business models look like? Data has become the hacker's currency. More data, more money. So the attack logic is simple: the more attacks, the more likely victim — so you automate ..."

Comments

ITYM "cracker"

[Kaz Kylheku]

I'm a hacker and I break out of loops, not into computers.

Re:ITYM "cracker"

[Kozz]

News flash: in English, words can have multiple definitions. I'm a hacker and I break golf clubs in frustration.

I'm a cracker, though I prefer the term "honky".

Losing battle

[Infonaut]

The mainstream media has screwed this one up for years, but it's embarrassing to see hacker and cracker treated as equivalent terms in this, the last bastion of geekdom.

Re:Losing battle

[Frosty Piss]

The mainstream media has screwed this one up for years, but it's embarrassing to see hacker and cracker ...

The *only* people that differentiate between the two are the Slashdot crowd. To *everyone* else, an hacker is a hacker is a hacker.