Hacking is NOT a Crime a non-profit organization advocating global policy reform to recognize and safeguard hacker rights. We seek to raise awareness about the pejorative use of the terms "hacker" and "hacking" throughout the media and popular culture. Specifically, the negative stereotype with which the terms are so often associated. Hackers are often vilified and portrayed as unethical individuals with malicious intent.
Because of this, many hackers refrain from publicly disclosing privacy and security vulnerabilities they discover for fear of legal retaliation. Consequently, this is creating an increasingly hostile digital frontier for everyone. The only viable remedy is to provide safeguards for hackers conducting good-faith privacy and security research.
Over the past several decades, the global media and popular culture has been using the term "hacker" to describe privacy and security enthusiasts who commit unethical and criminal acts. This is unfortunate, but understandable. Given the esoteric nature of privacy and security, and the profound impact they now have on our everyday lives, it's easy to understand why our persona is used as a disinformation tactic.
Contrary to this misperception, being a hacker is a lifestyle and mindset; an identity. It is not a fashion statement or a movie character. A hacker is simply an ethical, curious, outside-the-box thinker who creates unorthodox solutions to complex problems. The actions and methods by which these problems are solved is called "hacking". A criminal engages in unethical activities with malicious intent. Hackers do not.
We assert it is not the identity, knowledge, or profession by which one's persona should be characterized. Rather, it is the means, motive, opportunity, and most importantly the intent, that matter. Hacking therefore, is not and cannot be, a crime. It is merely an ethical endeavor of exploration and problem solving.