In the computer security context, a hacker is someone who seeks and exploits weaknesses in a computer system or computer network. Hackers may be motivated by a multitude of reasons, such as profit, protest, challenge, enjoyment,^[1] or to evaluate those weaknesses to assist in removing them. The subculture that has evolved around hackers is often referred to as the computer underground and is now a known community.^[2] While other uses of the word hacker exist that are related to computer security, such as referring to someone with an advanced understanding of computers and computer networks,^[3] they are rarely used in mainstream context.^{[citation needed]} They are subject to the longstanding hacker definition controversy about the term's true meaning. In this controversy, the term hacker is reclaimed by computer programmers who argue that someone who breaks into computers, whether computer criminal (black hats) or computer security expert (white hats),^[4] is more appropriately called a cracker instead.^[5] Some white hat hackers^[who?] claim that they also deserve the title hacker, and that only black hats should be called "crackers".

History

Further information: Timeline of computer security hacker history

Bruce Sterling, author of The Hacker Crackdown

In computer security, a hacker is someone who focuses on security mechanisms of computer and network systems. While including those who endeavor to strengthen such mechanisms, it is more often used by the mass media and popular culture to refer to those who seek access despite these security measures. That is, the media portrays the 'hacker' as a villain. Nevertheless, parts of the subculture see their aim in correcting security problems and use the word in a positive sense. White hat is the name given to ethical computer hackers, who utilize hacking in a helpful way. White hats are becoming a necessary part of the information security field.^[6] They operate under a code, which acknowledges that breaking into other people's computers is bad, but that discovering and exploiting security mechanisms and breaking into computers is still an interesting activity that can be done ethically and legally. Accordingly, the term bears strong connotations that are favorable or pejorative, depending on the context.

The subculture around such hackers is termed network hacker subculture, hacker scene or computer underground. It initially developed in the context of phreaking during the 1960s and the microcomputer BBS scene of the 1980s. It is implicated with 2600: The Hacker Quarterly and the alt.2600 newsgroup.

In 1980, an article in the August issue of Psychology Today (with commentary by Philip Zimbardo) used the term "hacker" in its title: "The Hacker Papers". It was an excerpt from a Stanford Bulletin Board discussion on the addictive nature of computer use. In the 1982 film Tron, Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) describes his intentions to break into ENCOM's computer system, saying "I've been doing a little hacking here". CLU is the software he uses for this. By 1983, hacking in the sense of breaking computer security had already been in use as computer jargon,^[7] but there was no public awareness about such activities.^[8] However, the release of the film WarGames that year, featuring a computer intrusion into NORAD, raised the public belief that computer security hackers (especially teenagers) could be a threat to national security. This concern became real when, in the same year, a gang of teenage hackers in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, known as The 414s, broke into computer systems throughout the United States and Canada, including those of Los Alamos National Laboratory, Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and Security Pacific Bank.^[9] The case quickly grew media attention,^[9][10] and 17-year-old Neal Patrick emerged as the spokesman for the gang, including a cover story in Newsweek entitled "Beware: Hackers at play", with Patrick's photograph on the cover.^[11] The Newsweek article appears to be the first use of the word hacker by the mainstream media in the pejorative sense.

Pressured by media coverage, congressman Dan Glickman called for an investigation and began work on new laws against computer hacking.^[12][13] Neal Patrick testified before the U.S. House of Representatives on September 26, 1983, about the dangers of computer hacking, and six bills concerning computer crime were introduced in the House that year.^[13] As a result of these laws against computer criminality, white hat, grey hat and black hat hackers try to distinguish themselves from each other, depending on the legality of their activities. These moral conflicts are expressed in The Mentor's "The Hacker Manifesto", published 1986 in Phrack.

Use of the term hacker meaning computer criminal was also advanced by the title "Stalking the Wily Hacker", an article by Clifford Stoll in the May 1988 issue of the Communications of the ACM. Later that year, the release by Robert Tappan Morris, Jr. of the so-called Morris worm provoked the popular media to spread this usage. The popularity of Stoll's book The Cuckoo's Egg, published one year later, further entrenched the term in the public's consciousness.

Classifications

Several subgroups of the computer underground with different attitudes use different terms to demarcate themselves from each other, or try to exclude some specific group with whom they do not agree.

Eric S. Raymond, author of The New Hacker's Dictionary, advocates that members of the computer underground should be called crackers. Yet, those people see themselves as hackers and even try to include the views of Raymond in what they see as a wider hacker culture, a view that Raymond has harshly rejected. Instead of a hacker/cracker dichotomy, they emphasize a spectrum of different categories, such as white hat, grey hat, black hat and script kiddie. In contrast to Raymond, they usually reserve the termcracker for more malicious activity.

According to Ralph D. Clifford, a cracker or cracking is to "gain unauthorized access to a computer in order to commit another crime such as destroying information contained in that system".^[14] These subgroups may also be defined by the legal status of their activities.^[15]

White hat

Main article: White hat

A white hat hacker breaks security for non-malicious reasons, perhaps to test their own security system or while working for a security company which makes security software. The term "white hat" in Internet slang refers to an ethical hacker. This classification also includes individuals who perform penetration tests and vulnerability assessments within a contractual agreement. The EC-Council,^[16] also known as the International Council of Electronic Commerce Consultants, is one of those organizations that have developed certifications, courseware, classes, and online training covering the diverse arena of ethical hacking.^[15]

Black hat

Main article: Black hat

A "black hat" hacker is a hacker who "violates computer security for little reason beyond maliciousness or for personal gain" (Moore, 2005).^[17] Black hat hackers form the stereotypical, illegal hacking groups often portrayed in popular culture, and are "the epitome of all that the public fears in a computer criminal".^[18] Black hat hackers break into secure networks to destroy, modify, or steal data; or to make the network unusable for those who are authorized to use the network. Black hat hackers are also referred to as the "crackers" within the security industry and by modern programmers. Crackers keep the awareness of the vulnerabilities to themselves and do not notify the general public or the manufacturer for patches to be applied. Individual freedom and accessibility is promoted over privacy and security. Once they have gained control over a system, they may apply patches or fixes to the system only to keep their reigning control. Richard Stallman invented the definition to express the maliciousness of a criminal hacker versus a white hat hacker who performs hacking duties to identify places to repair.^[19]

Grey hat

Main article: Grey hat

A grey hat hacker lies between a black hat and a white hat hacker. A grey hat hacker may surf the Internet and hack into a computer system for the sole purpose of notifying the administrator that their system has a security defect, for example. They may then offer to correct the defect for a fee.^[18] Grey hat hackers sometimes find the defect of a system and publish the facts to the world instead of a group of people. Even though grey hat hackers may not necessarily perform hacking for their personal gain, unauthorized access to a system can be considered illegal and unethical.

Elite hacker

A social status among hackers, elite is used to describe the most skilled. Newly discovered exploits circulate among these hackers. Elite groups such as Masters of Deception conferred a kind of credibility on their members.^[20]

Script kiddie

A script kiddie (also known as a skid or skiddie) is an unskilled hacker who breaks into computer systems by using automated tools written by others (usually by other black hat hackers), hence the term script (i.e. a prearranged plan or set of activities) kiddie (i.e. kid, child—an individual lacking knowledge and experience, immature),^[21] usually with little understanding of the underlying concept.

Neophyte

A neophyte ("newbie", or "noob") is someone who is new to hacking or phreaking and has almost no knowledge or experience of the workings of technology and hacking.^[18]

Blue hat

A blue hat hacker is someone outside computer security consulting firms who is used to bug-test a system prior to its launch, looking for exploits so they can be closed. Microsoft also uses the term BlueHat to represent a series of security briefing events.^[22][23][24]

Hacktivist

A hacktivist is a hacker who utilizes technology to publicize a social, ideological, religious or political message.

Hacktivism can be divided into two main groups:

• Cyberterrorism — Activities involving website defacement or denial-of-service attacks; and,
• Freedom of information — Making information that is not public, or is public in non-machine-readable formats, accessible to the public.

Nation state

Intelligence agencies and cyberwarfare operatives of nation states.^[25]

Organized criminal gangs

Groups of hackers that carry out organized criminal activities for profit.^[25]

Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Baran bo Odar
Written by	Baran bo Odar
Starring	Tom Schilling, Elyas M'Barek
Release dates	6 September 2014 (TIFF) 25 September 2014 (Germany)
Running time	105 minutes
Country	Germany
Language	German, English

  Who Am I – No System Is Safe (German: Who Am I – Kein System ist sicher) is a 2014 German thriller film directed by Baran bo Odar. It is centered on a computer hacker group in Berlin that gears towards global fame.

It was screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival.^[1] The film was shot in Berlin and Rostock.^[2]

Action [edit]

Submitted Hacker WhoAmI has risen to the police, but only wants to speak with suspended from duty Europol investigator Hanne Lindberg. He begins to tell her his childhood story. Lindberg says, these details are uninteresting, but WhoAmI says, every detail is important to understand how it had come to the current situation. Then he leads to her a magic trick with sugar cubes: He takes four sugar cubes in his right hand, then outputs it to the left, making them into a fist. When he opens his fist, only one sugar cube in it. This he give back to the right hand and makes it into a fist. When he opens the fist, there are four sugar cubes again. For this purpose, he says, is like hacking spells at both it is a question as to deceive the other, and leads his story continues. This conversation of WhoAmI with Lindberg in an interrogation cell forms the plot of the film, while telling of WhoAmI alias Benjamin Engel story is shown in flashback.

The inconspicuous Benjamin had an embossed of severe trauma childhood. His father left his mother before birth of Benjamin, and his mother has, as Benjamin was 8, committed suicide. Since Benjamin lived with his grandmother, to whom he has a very strong relationship. She keeps in a box three empty cartridge cases from Russia as a reminder of their fallen there during WWII father. Benjamin's shyness and the feeling of being in the real world of no significance, brought him on the way to the virtual world and also to organized, small hacking. His great role model in the darknet was the star-Hacker MRX, from the Benjamin learned three principles:

No system is safe (no system is safe, the subtitle of the film)

Aim for the impossible (brace for the impossible)

Have fun in cyberspace and meatspace (free: Limit your fun not only in the virtual world)

Upon extension of Pizza Benjamin sees his flock Marie from school again, the law student now. Casually and intentionell she mentioned that she needed for her exam the forthcoming issues of the servers of the University. Benjamin takes care of their problem and hacks into the university computer. He is, however, caught and sentenced to social work. Here he meets the charismatic Max, who, when he learns of Benjamin's skills in computer technology area, is at once eager for cooperation. At a party in a strange house is Max Benjamin before his two friends Stephen and Paul, who ask him to put his skills to the test. Benjamin hacking into the power supply and switched on for a short time the whole street energized.

Shortly afterwards, Benjamin has dementia ill grandmother in a nursing home, making their house the four-member group of hackers can be used from now on as the headquarters. When searching for a name for the group Benjamin brings the name proposal CLAY an abbreviation for clowns laughing at you, and based on the widespread Hacker area masking, which finds general approval.

Driven by Max's search for recognition in darknet the group is increasingly leading attacks with socio-critical designs in complex companies and organizations - so fall among others, the right-wing party and an NBD unnamed big drugmaker CLAY victim. Nevertheless, the highly respected hacker MRX seems to see the Darknet for their actions no attention or admiration, but also makes them a target of Cybergespötts. Max into a rage and calls for an attack that exceeds their previous limits several times, prompting Benjamin to as unhackable applicable German Federal Intelligence Service (BND) selects as their next victim. The action succeeds flawlessly through the division of labor of the group, however, still leaves Benjamin go with highly confidential employee information along with the regular order.

As Max kisses at a conference organized because of the success party on drugs Marie, Benjamin turns disappointed and furious from him, since he merely as Max 'tool sees himself. Without the knowledge or consent of the other members CLAY-it passes the stolen employee information in the Darknet to MRX. One day later, the hacker Krypton, a member of the prominent hacker group Friends (proper spelling in Leetspeak: FR13NDS), behind the Russian Cyber ​​Mafia infected, murdered in the woods outside the city found. It turns out then that Krypton was a mole who has collaborated with the BND. His death is attributed to the hacker attack on the BND, and thus also to which professing to this group CLAY. This invokes the Danish Europol investigator Hanne Lindberg on the scene who tried unsuccessfully for three years to lay the FR13NDS the craft. To whitewash Clays name and go underground again, looks the part if its debt to Krypton death shocked Benjamin only the possibility of the police and the MRX FR13NDS deliver.

MRX deceptive during which before his admiration for the BND attack and passes CLAY an order for the largest hacker attack of their previous existence, an attack on Europol, for which they receive from MRX a code key and a computer Trojans for Systeminfiltrierung. During the transfer they can be located by the police and almost caught. Benjamin Followers Lindberg and can barely hide. After her re-Failure Lindberg is suspended and replaced by another investigator. To cover their tracks, CLAY burn the house of Benjamin's grandmother.

After failed attempts to get into the Europol headquarters, with Max a hand injury incurs by a nail, it creates Benjamin actually an audacious trick, a so-called "evil twin", a malicious wireless access point to smuggle into the system and thus to obtain remote access. About a specially designed computer Trojan that is hidden in the issued by MRX Trojans, Benjamin, Max, Stephan and Paul want to turn access to MRXS computer and thus its identity. As Benjamin MRX want to hand over the stolen data system, it appears that this has seen through their modified Trojans mechanism. The them passed CodeKey also acted as IP transmitter spying Benjamin. Two armed FR13NDS members follow him into the underground shafts where he can escape them. When he returns to the hotel room, the CLAY inhabit after the destruction of its headquarters, he finds Max, Stephan and Paul on shot.

So who told in flashback story Benjamin has arrived in the presence of the background story. Benjamin sets three Russian bullet casings on the table and says they are all dead, and he just wants to be only Benjamin again. He offers Lindberg to deliver her MRX, whereby they would be rehabilitated when it included in the witness protection program of Europol. Although her colleague from the BKA pointing to large holes in the story told, Lindberg agrees. Benjamin's plan is MRX to attack in his pride, which is why he created a second pseudonym under MRXS name in darknet and this attracts the displeasure of other hackers, because he claims to be the true MRX and to whose treachery Krypton confesses. At the same time he paid the true MRX also with a IP transmitter and so revealed his true identity. MRX, who lives in New York, is arrested by the police and Lindberg is rehabilitated.

Lindberg noticed that Benjamin himself had the wound of the nail, which he attributed to Max. She also remembers the words of her-mate, Benjamin history have large holes. Therefore, it is alone to investigate. She finds the supposedly burned house unharmed. During a visit by Benjamin grandmother she finds the box of three cartridge cases before empty. Those were probably the bullet casings that Benjamin had submitted as evidence of the death of his friends. From three corpses in a hotel room the police is not known. Marie says, have not met Benjamin since his school days. From the psychiatrist of Benjamin's mother she learns that Benjamin might have inherited the predisposition to multiple personality, which is why Max, Stephan and Paul only facets of himself and he had CLAY be alone.

Lindberg, the empty cartridge box his grandmother before Benjamin and told him that he was alone CLAY and the others were products of his imagination. He himself was Max, Stephen and Paul. With a mental disorder it is not approved for the Witness Protection Program. Benjamin responded disappointed and desperate because he is afraid of being persecuted and killed by FR13NDS. As Lindberg will then bring him before a judge, she gives him five minutes to hack into the computer program for the witness protection program. There Benjamin sets to a new identity. Then Lindberg drove away with him and leaves him free, but he should promise her that he stops with the hoes. Benjamin says, "No more magic tricks", draws the four sugar cubes out of his pocket and puts it on the dashboard. Lindberg wants to know how the magic trick with the four sugar cubes goes, and Benjamin explains her. Then he leaves the car. As Lindberg put the sugar cube in her pocket, she notices that she has been deceived again. She looks after Benjamin, but he's already gone.

Benjamin is with blond hair dyed on a ship in the direction of Copenhagen, where he was previously "burn" with Marie, and considered his newly created "birth certificate". Suddenly, next to him Max, Stephan, Paul and Marie on. Benjamin notes, now they have managed to become "invisible" again. In flashbacks he dissolves the double twist: When he came back to the hotel room, he told the others that MRX know his identity and he had been persecuted by the FR13NDS. Max has the idea with Hanne Lindberg and Marie can be confirmed by their law knowledge that the mentally ill were excluded from the witness protection program. Finally Max Benjamin adds to the nail wound. Aboard Max says approvingly that was the biggest social engineering project of all time. Paul expresses concern, what happens when it Lindberg checked yet. Benjamin replied that she had checked it, but they got what they wanted.

Characters

Clay (clowns laughing at you) is an organization whose goal is to society to show something in order to cause good. Some of their goals are the stock exchange or major pharmaceutical companies. However, the members increased the insolence to head when they get the model MRX no recognition of their deeds.

Benjamin Engel

Benjamin is a shy boy. He works at night at a pizza delivery service. When he was sentenced after a failed attack on a university server to community service and thereby get to know Max, he becomes a founding member of Clay. His motive is next to his traumatic childhood, which was marked by the death of his mother, his position in society. Benjamin's character will change only slowly, and it remains shy and reserved. Another setback he has experience, as his grandmother has to be sent to a nursing home because of dementia. In return, the same flowers on Clay, because the now empty house can be used by fours as headquarters.

Max

Max is the complete opposite of Benjamin, because unlike this, he is confident. He knows something about social engineering and thus also of the manipulation of others. This is evident in his audacity and his advice, which he passes on to Benjamin: ". The man is in good faith and conflict-shy" "The greatest vulnerability is the human being", "Audacity wins" and Benjamin noted early that behind this scam puts nothing as a Skriptkiddie, but he keeps it for himself. However, Max has the idea to the final coup, the deception of Europol.

Paul

Paul is the hardware expert from Clay. He remains throughout the film a very critical character. This is reflected in the fact that he initially doubts Benjamin and also the threshold crossing (car "steal") participates only after Max 'persuasion on the jaunt.

Stephan

Stephan is the software expert from Clay. He has his own, crazy personality and is represented as very open to the outside world.

Friends

("FR13NDS" Leetspeak) the most sought after hackers grouping Until appearance of the Clay "Friends" were. The "FR13NDS" were also target the actual investigation by Europol, which have been led by Hanne

MRX

MRX is the leader of "FR13NDS". Known as a hacker he was, inter alia, by attacks on social networks. Generally he enjoys in the Deep Web a high reputation and is also the model for Max and Benjamin. At first he was not impressed by the hacker group Clay and mocked them downright. However, he pretends to have his opinion after the attack on the BND, as Benjamin did provide him with staff lists changed.

Krypton

Krypton is one of the members of the "FR13NDS". Only later it becomes clear that he is an undercover agent of the BND. This comes out as Benjamin unwittingly betrays him to MRX, which then leads to his immediate death.