New technology has generated a number of discussions behind access to new information and the issues around personal security. This ranges from the culture behind hacking, spamming and computer viruses.However the law have issues with the security of information and finding solutions to prevent the risk. Computer firms have had to develop their technologies in order to cease these problem. Hacker culture has become a ambiguous debate about whether the rise of new media has influenced or challenged society as a whole. Although the notion of hacking and gaining access to private information is illegal, it can be seen as positive as it immediately highlights flaws they have made in technology and it conveys the complexities within political environments that arise from information security. It can be argued that the hacking culture is the reason why information should not be free. Over the years governments have placed a ‘Controlled Unclassified Information’ policy over the public’s ability to hack into federal agencies data. Lyon (2002) highlighted that it is the convergence of digital technologies and the marking of accessed sites online which led to the governments dominance of the consumption of information. This can be seen as beneficial for them as they can coordinate activities that will impact on society effectively for example managing the risks of terrorist attacks. I believe that there should always be a balance over the information people gain access over. Lyon(2002:7) states that “the applications of technology to risk management in the social sphere may themselves be read as a risk” highlighting that due to the rise of the hacking culture, valuable information that shouldn’t be accessed by the public has the tendency to become misleading assumptions.
This is a documentary exploring the notion of hacking
CASE STUDY:
1. The Patriot Act was passed into US laws on October 2001, it is a set of rules that was constructed in attempt to unite and strengthen America by giving them the right tools to stop the risks of Terrorism. This act reinforced the laws behind technology by reducing the risk of the digital age becoming a danger to confidential government information. President George Bush put this into place to allow victims of computer hacking to put forward a law enforcement which enables them to track the “trespasser” that have allocated any of their personal information.
2. People’s Republic of China (PRC) highlights the growing censoring of a wide range of controversial subjects such as inequality, police brutality and the rise of independent movements. They pursued a propaganda model that puts online information about any of these issues as an offense. The Chinese government believe that this increases the amount of false claims made about the country which can be seen to be politically damaging for them. The Chinese have censored all forms of media that attempt to reach out to a wide audience, however some Chinese officials could gain information on these subjects through an internal document system.
Contrastingly Levy (1989) believes that computers have made the world a better place by highlighting that ‘access to computers — and anything that might teach you something about the way the world works should be unlimited and total’ in a sense hackers justify their reason by showing that hacking can teach you about the system of computing. By unpacking the hardware of computers you can observe how the world works and come up with ideas that will enhance mankind. Levy (1989) highlights that hacking is more than just getting into someone’s private files furthermore it consists of hackers trying to make improvements to the systems to enhance communication. The complicated programming behind computers is seen as extremely problematizing therefore hackers reprogram the software within computers to develop consumers experience. Levy (1989)uses the example of traffic lights, he stresses that the odd disperse of red lights and green lights are unnecessary and cause a number of delays in people’s daily lives. However constant drivers wouldn’t think to get out their cars and attempt to fix this issue by looking at the individual parts of the traffic light itself. He is therefore highlighting that as people become familiar with the notion of computing they will begin to adapt the functions of the computer to benefit us.
By examining this I believe that anyones attempt to develop computing has become a constant cycle of hacker assumptions. If it was a popular computer firm like Apple and they needed to examine the functioning of computers they wouldn’t be accused of hacking however when computer fascinated everyday individuals want to become involved in developing the computer they are allegedly hackers. There is going to be a constant barrier between humans and their understanding of computing if they cannot explore how they work and what capabilities they have to benefit their political, social and cultural understanding.If we cannot engage with the information behind computers, how can we fix them?
Levy(2002:27) highlights that theres no point in computer developers debating about the problem behind the functioning of computer, they should just break down the computer and result in finding the real problem so that they can rebuild a better computer software. I believe that information about improving the computer should not be controlled, if communication is what the world benefits from then why is hacking into computers illegal? If we want to create a straightforward way off all computer software working effectively then we are not benefiting from the free flow of information. However if a open system was created attempting to remove the barrier between hackers and information then we can develop the code of programming a computer has, to come up with sustainable ideas that can complement the users experience. Hacking culture can therefore be seen as a platform for new innovative ideas. Hackers shouldn’t be defined by their actions, it should be based on the reasons behind the action.
CASE STUDY:
1. The Culture Hack is a development programme that attempts to benefit digital devices by allowing people create new innovative ideas and encourage relationships between technology and creative ideas. It was founded in January 2011 and allows people to gain a totally different perspective on digital technologies.
State officials make important decisions on the system of governing instead of using the system of elections, however with all their demands they cannot make room for investigating the truth behind the hacking culture. Instead bureaucrats emphasize state laws instead of looking at how computer programs operate. They possess these laws to convey authority and to show that hackers have become a threat to the way that society works in a sense that the wrong people are holding the power however they do not know the impact behind this which is that other rivalling countries can gain access to information to can jeopardize the country. Levy (1984:28) highlights that the International Business Machines (IBM) which allows users to gain information about innovative products is a challenge for governments as it provides information that can teach anyone and everyone to become a community of hackers. IBM failed to understand the extent of hacking in effect this is why we are debating the hacking culture. In a sense I agree with the claim that computers have made our lives better, as it has given us the opportunity to enlarge human interaction and given us new ways of developing creative ideas. It has enriched all our processes and as Samson highlighted it has put forward the idea that “Once you fix a behavioural problem [a computer or program]has, its fixed forever and it is exactly the image you meant”.
Bibliography:
Culture Hack (2011) What is Culture Hack? Available at: http://culturehack.org.uk/about/, (Accessed:January 21st 2014)
Flew, T (2008) Understanding New Media: An Introduction 2nd edn. Oxford: Oxford University Press
Preserving life and liberty (2001) The USA patriot web Available at: http://www.justice.gov/archive/ll/highlights.html (Accessed: January 21st 2014)
The New York Times (2013) Crackdown on Bloggers is Mounted by China, Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/11/world/asia/china-cracks-down-on-online-opinion-makers.html?ref=internetcensorship&_r=0 (Accessed: January 21st 2014)
Levy, S (1984) Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution, O’Reilly
Digital Culture 