Hacked

A Radical Approach to Hacker Culture and Crime

Kevin F. Steinmetz

• Publisher: NYU Press
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN: 9781479869718
• eBook ISBN: 9781479816293
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Criminology
• Index: Social Sciences

Inside the life of a hacker and cybercrime culture. Public discourse, from pop culture to political rhetoric, portrays hackers as deceptive, digital villains. But what do we actually know about them? In Hacked, Kevin F. Steinmetz explores what it means to be a hacker and the nuances of hacker culture. Through extensive interviews with hackers, observations of hacker communities, and analyses of hacker cultural products, Steinmetz demystifies the figure of the hacker and situates the practice of hacking within the larger political and economic structures of capitalism, crime, and control.This captivating book challenges many of the common narratives of hackers, suggesting that not all forms of hacking are criminal and, contrary to popular opinion, the broader hacker community actually plays a vital role in our information economy. Hacked thus explores how governments, corporations, and other institutions attempt to manage hacker culture through the creation of ideologies and laws that protect powerful economic interests. Not content to simply critique the situation, Steinmetz ends his work by providing actionable policy recommendations that aim to redirect the focus from the individual to corporations, governments, and broader social issues. A compelling study, Hacked helps us understand not just the figure of the hacker, but also digital crime and social control in our high-tech society.

Part I

Setting the Stage

1

The Front End of Hacking

To provide a holistic account of hacking, one should start from the beginning, so to speak. This analysis therefore begins by examining factors associated with growing up as a hacker (see also Bachmann 2010; Holt 2009, 2010a; Schell, Dodge, and Moutsatsos 2002; Schell and Holt 2010).1 Subsequent chapters will pull readers upward through levels of analysis, building towards a broad political economic, or structural, discussion of hacking.

Two areas of hackers as individuals are explored through semi-structured interview data with insights from ethnographic participant observation (see the book’s introduction). The first includes demographic characteristics including age, race, gender, perceived social class, and occupation. Developmental factors that potentially influential in participants’ maturation as hackers are then discussed. These factors involve educational experiences, perceived influences and levels of support provided by parents, as well as first exposures to technology, the concept of hacking, and the hacking community. As argued here, these factors are potentially significant catalysts toward becoming a hacker. Though other elements are explored, this analysis concludes that hacking is a heavily class-based phenomenon, with most hackers being culled from the ranks of the middle class. Tables 1.1 and 1.2 provide summaries for many of the background characteristics and developmental factors discussed in this study.

Demographic Characteristics

The analysis of hacker backgrounds begins with a description of general demographic characteristics: age, family status (marital status, children), self-perceptions of social class, occupation, and educational background. While the primary contribution of this chapter is to consider hacking as a middle-class phenomenon, this section includes expanded discussions of the race and gender disparities found within Union Hack and the hacker community more generally. Class is not the only form of social stratification and such flagrant disproportionalities in race and gender worthy of at least a momentary discussion in their own right. While the frequencies provided are based on the interview data, observational study of DEF CON 21 participants also supports the general demographic distribution in this sample. These findings also parallel previous research on the age, race, gender, marital status, and education of hackers (Bachmann 2010; Schell, Dodge, and Moutsatsos 2002; Schell and Holt 2010; Taylor 1999).

Table 1.2. Demographic and Background Characteristics (cont.)*

Name	Socio-Economic Class Growing Up	Father’s Occupation	Mother’s Occupation	First Exposure to Computers or Similar Technology (Age or period)	First Exposure to Idea of Hacking (Age or period)	First Exposure to Hacker Community (Age or period)
Aidan	Middle	Automotive mechanic	Respiratory therapist	~5–7	~12–14	~13
Danny	Middle	Engineer (Ph.D.)	Jeweler	~10–11	Seventh grade	~Seventh grade
Gilbert	Middle	Food scientist	Teacher	Elementary school	Before junior high	College
Harvey	Middle	“The professions”	Homemaker	~6	Before age 14	Early 1980s
Jensen	Middle	CPA	Portrait artist	Grade school	During college	1970s (with phone phreaking)
John	Middle	Stay-at-home parent	Lab technician	~5–6	Ninth grade	Twelfth grade
Keith	Middle	Computer programmer	Stay-at-home parent	~6–7	End of elementary school	~24
Miles	Upper-Middle	Middle-management	Stay-at-home parent	~Kindergarten	~12–16	Late 1980s
Pete	Middle	Marine	Stay-at-home parent/book retail	~6–8	Childhood	~16–17
Raj	Upper-Middle	Medical doctor	Beautician	~12	~7	~26
Rick	Upper-Middle	Engineer	—	Elementary school	High school	High school
Roger	Middle	Software engineer	Office sales	~8	Teenage years	Teenage years
Russell	Middle	Automotive mechanic	Mortgage company employee	~9–10	~12–14	21
Susan	Lower-Middle to Middle	Computer engineer	Homemaker	~4–5	Unsure	College

* Some participants were vague or unwilling to be specific on certain demographic characteristics. Thus, approximations are presented for some (designated by ‘~’). In addition, some participants did not volunteer certain information. In these instances, the entry is left blank.

Table 1.1. Demographic and Background Characteristics*

Name	Age	Race/Ethnicity	Gender	Education	Occupation/Field	Marital Status	Has Children
Aidan	27	White	Male	Associate’s	Field technician	Married	No
Danny	23	White	Male	In college	Computer security**	Single	No
Gilbert	24	White	Male	Bachelor’s	System administrator	Single	No
Harvey	41	White	Male	Bachelor’s	Independent IT consultant	Married	No
Jensen	61	White	Male	Bachelor’s	Technician/contractor	Married	—
John	30	White	Male	Some college	Web hosting manager	Married	No
Keith	27	White	Male	In college	Technician	Single	No
Miles	37	White	Male	Some college	Security research scientist	Single	No
Pete	35	White	Male	Honorary doctorate (otherwise, no advanced degrees)	Computer security researcher	Divorced	Yes
Raj	37	Indian	Male	Master’s	Software development (customer-facing)	Single	No
Rick	50	White	Male	Bachelor’s	Software engineer	Married	Yes
Roger	27	White	Male	In college	Retail	Single	No
Russell	~30	White	Male	Bachelor’s	IT technician	Married	Yes
Susan	~37	White	Female	Bachelor’s	IT management	Divorced?	Yes

* Some participants were vague or unwilling to be specific on certain demographic characteristics. Thus, approximations are presented for some (designated by ‘~’). In addition, some participants did not volunteer certain information. In these instances, the entry is left blank.

** As this participant is currently in school working towards a career goal, the occupation listed here is aspirational. Other participants in school, however, are currently employed in areas related to technology.

Age

The age of participants in this study ranged from 23 to 61 years old with an approximate average of 34.71 and a median of 32.5 (some participants only gave approximate ages). As evidenced here, the members of Union Hack come from a wide arrangement of generations—perhaps a relatively unique feature of a group subjected to criminological inquiry. The oldest subject interviewed was Jensen. With grey hair, an easy demeanor, and an intensely deep knowledge of hacker history and technological lore, he grew up in a time before computers, becoming acquainted with technology through radio and audio equipment. Danny was the youngest participant interviewed. At age twenty-three, he was a spirited and anarchistic hacker who was born in an age overrun with computer technology (the Internet was almost always a part of his life). Though Danny was the most junior of the hackers interviewed, that is not to say there are not younger hackers. As will be discussed, many hackers get involved in technology early in life. Many children and teenagers were observed participating in hacker culture during the course of the field research. Some of the older participants even brought their children to enculturate them into the hacker community. For ethical considerations, these minors were not interviewed.

As previously argued, not all hackers conform to the stereotypical image of the computer vandal. Those who have engaged in illegal activities or otherwise got themselves into trouble did so when they were much younger, typically during adolescent years through early twenties (see Yar 2005). Such results are unsurprising, however, as this is consistent with prior research on the age-crime curve (Gottfredson and Hirschi 1990). Self-identification with the hacker community also does not seem to correlate with level of involvement in criminal activity. In other words, self-identification as a hacker does not appear to hinge on previous or current involvement in computer crime. For those hackers who do engage in criminal activity later in the life course, there appears to be variation in frequency and duration of offending, with some drifting in and out of illicit activity over time.

Family Status

Hackers are often stereotyped as anti-social loners, spending hours in front of a computer monitor in lieu of human interaction. Ignoring that such a stereotype is rendered problematic by the presence of the hacker community (and evident in the volume of loquacious and sociable individuals I met over the course of the research), this perception is further eroded by the presence of marital and familial ties, like parenting, present among the interviewees and further noted in observations. Just like most other groups, hackers as social creatures who may seek affection, intimacy, camaraderie, and even familial bonding (Coleman 2010, 2013). In this study, five of the interview participants were married at the time of research with two being either divorced or separated from long-term relationships. Of the unmarried or never married, four are under the age of 30—an age group where being unmarried is more likely generally. Additionally, four of the interviewees had children. One of the interview participants, in fact, was the son of an older participant.

Socio-Economic Status

In a finding that will be revisited again towards the end of this chapter (and will reemerge in part 2 of this book), all of the interview participants in this study perceived themselves as members of the middle class or some variant thereof in this study. Of course, most persons—regardless of their actual socio-economic position in society—tend to regard themselves as middle class. It would make sense, however, that hackers tend to be of the middle class because of the relative privilege such economic positioning affords. In addition, the following two subsections concerning occupation and educational attainment are associated with such class positioning. Even among hackers who engage in illicit activity, middle-class stationing is apparent. Consistent with research on juvenile delinquency, white-collar crime, drug use, and other areas of criminological inqury, criminality is not the exclusive purview of the poor.

Occupation

At the time of research, ten interviewees were employed in legitimate technology sector occupations including systems administration, programming, and technician work. One participant was in school (otherwise unemployed) and working towards a job in computer security at the time of study. Two participants, while their jobs did not involve technical work directly, were employed in management and customer relations in technology industries. One participant held a non-technical retail job. In general, though, the participants held occupations compatible with their interests in technology and hacking. If they did not, then they at least professed a desire to work in such an area. While not an absolute, hackers have a tendency to gravitate toward white-collar jobs. Though only gleaned through observation, it appeared that younger hackers, however, much like their non-hacker peers, are still likely to work in menial or service sector jobs when employed. Such are the disadvantages of youth in the contemporary job market.

Educational Attainment

Unlike many populations characterized as criminal or deviant, the hackers in this study were relatively educated. All of the interviewees had acquired some form of higher education with the exception of one who subsequently was awarded with an honorary doctorate. At the time of the study, two persons had attended some college, three were enrolled in college, one had attained an Associate’s degree, six had Bachelor’s degrees, and one had a Master’s degree. These results are mirrored in the demographics research conducted by Michael Bachmann (2010) and Bernadette Schell, John Dodge, and Steve Moutsatsos (2002). The disproportionately high attainment of higher education degrees may be, at least partially, a result of economic privilege (see Reay et al. 2001). While many of the participants had some form of higher education, participation in these institutions is not necessary for inclusion in the hacker community. As Raj, one of the participants, explained, “The good thing about programming is that some of the best programmers I know don’t have a college degree. Some of the best hackers out there don’t have a college degree.” Regardless, there appears to be a connection between education attainment and participation in hacker culture.

Race

As noted in other studies, this examination similarly found a tremendous racial representation gap among hackers (Bachmann 2010; Schell, Dodge, and Moutsatsos 2002; Schell and Melnychuk 2010; Söderberg 2008; Taylor 1999). Thirteen interviewees were white with one person being of Indian (non-Native American) descent. The conclusion drawn here is that the majority of members of the hacker community appear to be white. Similarly, observations made during field research seem to support such conclusions. Of course, the distribution presented here also belies some of the diversity present in the community. While observational data seem...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• List of Figures and Tables
• List of Abbreviations
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction: Toward a Radical Criminology of Hackers
• Part I. Setting the Stage
• Part II. The Radical Turn
• Appendix: Field Research Lists
• Notes
• References
• Index
• About the Author