Illegal Internet

John Collins 

9. Conclusion

The main appeal of the Internet to me is the ability to communicate complex ideas in a fast, cheap and creative way. This may include e-mail, web design or even chat rooms and message boards. No other media in the history of the industrialised world provides such a level playing field, where the individual like you or I may compete with the giant corporations to have our voices heard online.

In my opinion, for the most part, the hacking culture does not provide a significant threat to the majority of Internet users, certainly not big enough to justify them being scared away from the Internet by all of the negative media hype of high profile hacking cases, which at worst often border on the hysterical.

I am certainly not saying that the threat does not exist, which would be irresponsible, but what I am saying is that a level-headed approach should be taken by all Internet users to protect their privacy and security online, and to ensure that they educate and inform themselves of the more serious risks involved in maintaining any kind of Internet presence.

The history of Internet hacking is an ongoing affair, one that will eventually show the true meaning of hacking to be to explore and understand, not to destroy and corrupt. When this ideal is realised, perhaps one day people will again be able to publicly declare themselves to be hackers, without the fear of losing their jobs or facing prosecution.