Steinmetz - Hacked: a radical approach to hacker culture and crime

Alternative Criminology Series

General Editor: Jeff Ferrell

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Empire of Scrounge: Inside the Urban Underground of Dumpster Diving, Trash Picking, and Street Scavenging

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Terrorism as Crime: From Oklahoma City to Al-Qaeda and Beyond

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Our Bodies, Our Crimes: The Policing of Womens Reproduction in America

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Graffiti Lives: Beyond the Tag in New Yorks Urban Underground

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Crimes of Dissent: Civil Disobedience, Criminal Justice, and the Politics of Conscience

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The Culture of Punishment: Prison, Society, and Spectacle

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Who You Claim: Performing Gang Identity in School and on the Streets

Robert Garot

5 Grams: Crack Cocaine, Rap Music, and the War on Drugs

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Judging Addicts: Drug Courts and Coercion in the Justice System

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Courting Kids: Inside an Experimental Youth Court

Carla J. Barrett

The Spectacular Few: Prisoner Radicalization and the Evolving Terrorist Threat

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Comic Book Crime: Truth, Justice, and the American Way

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The Securitization of Society: Crime, Risk, and Social Order

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Covered in Ink: Tattoos, Women, and the Politics of the Body

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Narrative Criminology: Understanding Stories of Crime

Edited by Lois Presser and Sveinung Sandberg

Progressive Punishment: Job Loss, Jail Growth and the Neoliberal Logic of Carceral Expansion

Judah Schept

The Culture of Meth: Crime, Media, and the War on Drugs

Travis Linneman

Hacked: A Radical Approach to Hacker Culture and Crime

Kevin F. Steinmetz

Kevin F. Steinmetz

NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PRESS

New York

NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PRESS

New York

www.nyupress.org

2016 by New York University

All rights reserved

References to Internet websites (URLs) were accurate at the time of writing. Neither the author nor New York University Press is responsible for URLs that may have expired or changed since the manuscript was prepared.

ISBN : 978-1-4798-6610-6 (hardback)

ISBN : 978-1-4798-6971-8 (paperback)

For Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data, please contact the Library of Congress.

New York University Press books are printed on acid-free paper, and their binding materials are chosen for strength and durability. We strive to use environmentally responsible suppliers and materials to the greatest extent possible in publishing our books.

Manufactured in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Also available as an ebook

For Pamela, who makes all things possible.

For the members of Union Hack. Thanks for the opportunity, the tutelage, and the good times.

3.1. Snowden Cardboard Cutouts

I.1. Content Analysis Sample Descriptive Statistics

1.1. Demographic and Background Characteristics

1.2. Demographic and Background Characteristics (cont.)

2.1. Components of Hacking

3.1. Perspectives on Government, Law, and Law Enforcement

A.1. Interview List

A.2. Participant Observation List

AI: artificial intelligence

ANPR: automatic number plate recognition

BASIC: Beginners All-Purpose Symbolic Instruction Code

BBS: bulletin board system

CCC: Chaos Computer Club

DMCA: Digital Millennium Copyright Act

DRM: digital rights management

CFAA: Computer Fraud and Abuse Act

CP/M: Control Program for Microcomputers

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation

DARPA: Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency

DOS: disk operating system

EFF: Electronic Frontier Foundation

F/OSS: free and open-source software

FBI: Federal Bureau of Investigation

FISA: Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act

FUBAR: fucked up beyond all recognition

GNU: GNUs Not Unix

HBCC: Homebrew Computer Club

IBM: International Business Machines

IRC: Internet relay chat

JSTOR: Journal Storage

MIT: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

MPAA: Motion Picture Association of America

NORAD: North American Aerospace Defense Command

NSA: National Security Agency

OECD: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development

OS: operating system

PRISM: Planning Tool for Resource Integration, Synchronization, and Management

RGB: red, green, blue

RTFM: read the fucking manual

STEM: science, technology, engineering, and mathematics

TAP: Technical Assistance Program

TMRC: Tech Model Railroad Club

UNIX: Uniplexed Information and Computing System

USA PATRIOT: United and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism

VoIP: Voice over Internet Protocol

This book emerged from a number of separate research projects spanning from my earliest days in graduate school to the first years of my professorial academic life. As a result, I am deeply indebted to many who have directly or indirectly shaped not only the development of my research but my trajectory as a burgeoning scholar. If the reader will indulge me, I would like to thank each of these people with the understanding that a few lines of text can do little to communicate the impact they have had. First, I have had the good fortune of having a number of mentors who have kindly directed me while tolerating or even indulging my (many) eccentricities. Thanks go to my mentors from Eastern Kentucky University (EKU), including Ken Tunnell, who taught me the meaning of academic integrity and the joys of writing. Thanks are also extended to Gary Potter, who helped challenge my perceptions of criminal justice policy and demonstrated the incendiary power of a well-timed joke. I also appreciate the efforts of Peter Kraska as he helped me develop a work ethic and a sense of rigor. In addition, I am indebted to Victor Kappeler who triggered my love of critical criminology and radical thought. It was Vic who initially encouraged me to write a booka push I can never thank him enough for.

When I left EKU for Sam Houston State University to get my Ph.D., I was met with a dizzying culture shock. Fortunately, there were people there who helped protect me from myself while giving me the support and freedom to pursue my interests. Appreciation is given to Howard Henderson. He always had time to chat and his academic openness created some of my favorite moments of scholarly collaboration. He also helped teach me the value of (critically) thinking about the potential applications of research to the real world. Dennis Longmire must also be thanked for his appreciation of philosophy and his thorough understanding of the value of human life. Last but certainly not least, I express my deepest appreciation to Jurg Gerber, who served as the chair of my doctoral dissertation and my co-author on various projects. He took me on as a student early and gave me the space to find myself as an academic. Ill also never be able to thank him enough for supporting me during the more turbulent times of my doctoral educationand for his sense of humor.