Hackers are not who you think they are

from Women In Security Magazine Issue 3

by source2create

Surviving a crisis - a view from the trenches

CRAIG FORD

Cyber Enthusiast, Ethical Hacker, Author of A hacker I am vol1 & vol2

COLUMN

Hackers are not who you think they are

We all know what hackers are, right? Those hooded mysterious creatures of the night who hang out in dark rooms doing ungodly things to poor unsuspecting victims, with what looks like matrix code running down their screens. They are all bad people who should be hunted down and rounded up, shouldn’t they?

That whole picture is completely wrong, and it has been my aim for many years to try and remove that stigma. Hackers are not the bad guys, they are not criminals. Many of them are the good guys trying to stop the cyberwar from spilling over into the mainstream for all to see. Your neighbour could be a hacker. Someone in your family could be a hacker. You could be a hacker.

I am a hacker.

I am also called a cybersecurity professional, pentester, or sometimes just Craig.

I don’t wear a hoodie, but on many occasions you will see me in a business suit, or some form of business attire. I work for Baidam (an indigenous cybersecurity solutions provider), so you might even see me getting around in some cool company-branded polos with amazing indigenous artwork on them, but never a hoodie.

I, like many hackers, never hang out in those dingy rooms, honestly. I wear glasses while working on the computer most of the time these days. My eyes certainly aren’t as good as they used to be and I don’t think working in the dark with the damaging blue light from the screens would do anything good for them. I know I am making fun of this whole situation, but I want to make a real point here. Hackers are not the bad guys. In fact, they are more likely to be the good guys and girls trying to save your bacon. So if you can help change their image in your organisation, do it. Change the narrative, help me get the idea of hacker as criminal eradicated, and call out the real criminals. Whether on the internet or in the real world, crime is