E Gabrielle Coleman; from phreakers to hackers

Phreakers is not a term that we are able to recognize using the eye test; but it an important predecessor of something that is: hackers. Phreakers operate using many of the same principles that guide hackers today; they rely on the gathering of information to study and analyze the infrastructure of their respective technologies and when it calls for, they are able to break into the system and interfere with it. Phreakers are familiar with the digital transistors; they form the basis for higher level digital hacking. But the role of phreakers extend beyond merely sitting behind a desk and hashing code; it involved significant legwork too. Phreakers had to gather physical evidence, whether it pretending to be a guest of the phone operator to scavenging for documents from telephone companies. These are very dedicated means that Phreakers used to decipher the algorithm that telephone companies use. In a way, using this information, they are able to intercept calls and pretend to be a phone operator to confuse the customers that call the telephone. However all of these work was not done with any form of malicious intent; instead it was formed to serve technical skills to those that dabbled in it and have fun.

Hackers are able to operate more complex digital machines that be able to decipher algorithms and code to evoke a bigger effect; for example the hacking of a federal website may cost taxpayers money  to fight and leaves millions of people unable to access it. This is clearly an attempt to inflict negative effects. However, the scope of modern day hacking has increased too, which means the same work in the phreaking age did not correlate with the payoff for the same work done in the hacking age; in other words, when the complexity increases, so does the rewards and desired result. Because hackers generally don't have good intentions, this creates problems for corporations and personal websites alike. Hackers are essentially computer science specialist with a focus on exploiting code vulnerabilities in websites and programs. While it's still possible for hackers to not have a bad intent, the actions of modern day hackers have shutdown federal websites and disrupted businesses all over the world, costing the world millions and millions of damages a year. The only similarities between phreakers and hackers, as Coleman suggests, is that both of these people share the same work ethic, that it requires dedication and perseverance to successfully execute.