So who are internet hackers? and why do they hack?

Answer 1

There are white-hat hackers (legal, security consultants, the people who run honeypots to catch black-hats)

There are black-hat hackers (willing to do illegal, benefit from it, use other peoples computers without permission)

There are grey-hat hackers (harder to define, basically willing to break the law but feel they have a good reason to, movies often show grey-hat hackers)

Hacking is a tool and a method. Not everyone is pulled to the dark side. Common amoung hackers is curiousity and creativity. They hate being limited to the menu. They find new things, both good and bad. It also involves any system, not just computers.

There are also script kiddies and crackers. Crackers are usually just users. A hacker finds a security hole, a cracker abuses it for his own gain. That doesnt mean he has any clue how to be a hacker but at least he usually understands the code he is using. Script kiddies find automated scripts on the net and run them. Often they are lost about how to even move around in the system they break into.

Why did the hacker cross the road? To get to the other side.
Why did the cracker cross the road? To get what was on the other side.
A minor difference but an important one.

Answer 2

A lot more people are hackers now then when I use to hack I know that. It's tripled if not more, mainly because it's a lot easier to get into systems with the point and click programs, etc..

I was a blackhat hacker for about 3 years, defacing websites, breaking into systems that seemed interesting. Not like the stuff you see today really. The systems I hacked into, or cracked into were intentional, and I had a reason for each website. Wether it was because they said they were secure, or just so I could have my name on the front of a well known, or cool URLs. A lot of local businesses, schools, and just personal home computers (through local ISPs, simple netbios, etc.) were penetrated by me as well.

Now...it's strictly whitehat, and I help to defend AGAINST the kids the world knows as "hackers/crackers." I'm a network administrator and ASP Technician, and also manage my own network security website, web design, etc.. So for me, it was to help me to get a decent career down, and boredom while I was in free CCNA classes. Believe it or not I mentioned, to my place of employment, the fact that I was involved in hacking when I was younger, and that I had a network security website up to help other IT Administrators.

All in all it use to be fun stuff, and it's amazing what a person can learn. Wether you spend a lot of time on it, or hardly any time on it, you're going to learn something new and it can help in the future.

Answer 3

Originally, the term "hacker" referred to someone who tinkered with a computer (or other technology gadget) in order to "see what makes it tick," learn about it, "improve" it or change its function, etc. Sort of like the high-school boy who likes to tinker with cars.

Thanks to mass media mistakes, the term hacker has come to mean what used to be called a "cracker." (Someone who violates security on a computer system -- "cracks" the code, so to speak -- usually with malicious intent.)

Why do they do it? Probably because they are extremely bright, talented individuals who are not challenged by more conventional pursuits, and seek the thrill/challenge of solving the mystery of how to break into a supposedly "secure" system. Unfortunately, it often goes beyond the simple thrill of defeating the security. Sometimes they are lashing out at "the establishment", or some perceived wrong that has been done to them. Sometimes they are looking to profit from the results of their "hacking." Those are the times when it gets ugly.

Bottom line as to the why: Bright, talented, bored people looking for thrills, profit and/or some sort of vengeance.