The study is an examination of hacking, placing the act in the
context of theories of technological change. The account of hacking is
used to substantiate those theories that emphasise the societal
shaping of technology over the notion of technological determinism.
The evolution of hacking is traced, showing how it reflects changing
trends in the nature of information: the most vivid of these is the
conceptualisation of information known as 'cyberspace'. Instead of
simply cataloguing the impact of technical changes within computing,
and the effects they have had upon information, the study shows
how technical change takes place in a process of negotiation and
conflict between groups.The two main groups analysed are those of the Computer
Underground (CU) and the Computer Security Industry (CSI). The
experiences and views of both groups are recounted in what
constitute internalist and externalist accounts of hacking and its
significance. The internalist account is the evidence provided by
hackers themselves. It addresses such issues as what motivates the
act of hacking; whether there is an identifiable hacking culture; and
why it is almost an exclusively male activity. The externalist account
contains the perceptions of hacking held by those outside the
activity.The state of computing's security measures and its
vulnerability to hacking is described, and evidence is provided of the
extent to which hacking gives rise to technical knowledge that could
be of potential use in the fixing of security weaknesses. The division
within the CSI between those broadly cooperative with hackers and
those largely hostile to them is examined, and the reasons why
hacking knowledge is not generally utilised are explored. Hackers
are prevented from gaining legitimacy within computing in a process
referred to as 'closure'. Examples include hackers being stigmatised
through the use of analogies that compare their computing activities
to conventional crimes such as burglary and tresspass.Stigmatisation is carried out by the CSI who use it in a process of
professional boundary formation to distinguish themselves from
hackers. It is also used by other authority figures such as Members
of Parliament whose involvement in the process of closure takes the
form of the anti-hacking legislation they have passed, an analysis of
which concludes this study
