A Brief History of Computer Hacking

The term “hack” was most likely developed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the early 1980s. Initially this was a complimentary term for one who could extends programs capabilities past their intended uses. Yet the origins of hacking dates back to 1961 with MITS first PDP-1. A segment within an MIT club, MIT’s Tech Model Railroad Club, were these first hackers. At the time, one of the worlds leading artificial intelligence (AI) centers was at MIT. The MIT hackers infiltrated this system. Yet the hackers power only grew in 1969 with the invention ARPANET.

The United States Department of Defense created ARPANET as a communication experiment. Little did they know, ARPANET’s appeal quickly caught on. This high speed network enabled hackers to communicate and pole resources.  The group created their own slang which in 1983 was published as “The Hacker’s Dictionary.”

The same year that ARPANET was developed, a hacker named Ken Thompson invented Unix in 1969. Fellow hacker Dennis Ritchie developed a language called ’C’ for Thompson’s Unix. This programming language was amateur friendly and enabled hackers to build off other peoples ideas. With the sale of the first personal computer in 1975, hackers territory was quickly growing. By the mid-eighties the term hacker was becoming visible in mainstream media. Two large hacking network were founded in the early 1980s: Legion of Doom in the US and Chaos Computer Club in Germany. Yet hackers strength was still to be increased with the kick off of a popular tool called the Web.

The United States government acted to try and stop hackers in the late 1980s with the passing of the Computer Fraud Abuse Act which gave federal authorities more power, and the Computer Emergency Response Team. Located in the Carnegie Mellon University, this US Defense run program was specially created bring to justice these hackers. Yet despite these efforts no one was safe from hackers. The First National Bank of Chicago lost $70 million through hackers computer heist.

In the early 1990s the internets mainstream appeal took off. Hackers even became Internet Service Providers and countless web sites offer amateur hackers quick and easy guidelines to hacking. Even the powerful giant Microsoft has been victim to hackers attack as well as countless government agencies.

                                                                                                                        The infamous Kevin Mitnick-the first hacker to be wanted on an FBI poster.
                                                                                                                                                                         Kevin's official website
 
 
 
 

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hacker prevention

 Explanation of how hackers work and means of hacker prevention

 Free hacker prevention software and tips.

 Private company protects clients from hackers for nominal fee.

 Downloadable hacker prevention program.
 

hacker bios
 

 Website analyzes different types of hackers steering away from specific hackers.

 Hackers hall of fame.

 Analysis of the infamous Boston hackers L0pht
 
 

hacker histories

 Well researched, informative and visually pleasing guide to international hacking both computer and other.

 Detailed history of computer hacking in the United States.

 A less technical hacker history

 History of hacking from a legal standpoint.
 
 
 
 
 

                                                                                         a history of hacking-by Victoria A. Tishman