Does the hacker ethic reflect a growing force in society that stands for greater sharing of resources and information – a reaffirmation of basic values in our constitution and laws? It is important that we examine the differences between the standards of hackers, systems managers, users, and the public. These differences may represent breakdowns in current practices, and may present new opportunities to design better policies and mechanisms for making computer resources and information more widely available.
Predictor: Denning, Dorothy
Prediction, in context:This 1991 research, presented by Dorothy Denning at the Oct. 1990 proceedings of the 13th National Computer Security Conference in Washington, D.C., considers the motivations of hackers who break the law. She writes: ”Hackers say that it is our social responsibility to share information, and that it is information hoarding and disinformation that are the crimes. This ethic of resource and information sharing contrasts sharply with computer security policies that are based on authorization and ‘need to know.’ This discrepancy raises an interesting question: Does the hacker ethic reflect a growing force in society that stands for greater sharing of resources and information – a reaffirmation of basic values in our constitution and laws? It is important that we examine the differences between the standards of hackers, systems managers, users, and the public. These differences may represent breakdowns in current practices, and may present new opportunities to design better policies and mechanisms for making computer resources and information more widely available.”
Biography:Dorothy Denning was a professor and chair of Computer Science at Georgetown University in the 1990s, by which time she had been in the field of computer security and cryptography for two decades. Previous to her arrival at GU, she worked at Digital Equipment Corporation, SRI International and Purdue University. Her books include “Cryptography and Data Security” and “Information Warfare and Security.” She authored many Internet research studies. She was the first president of the International Association for Cryptologic Research. (Research Scientist/Illuminator.)
Date of prediction: March 1, 1991
Topic of prediction: Community/Culture
Subtopic: Ethics/Values
Name of publication: Communications of the ACM
Title, headline, chapter name: Concerning Hackers Who Break into Computer Systems
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://www.cs.georgetown.edu/~denning/infosec/Neidorf.txt
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Dorne, Jay