Blog Post 2

The week that was the most interesting was when we discussed hackivism, internet vigilantism, and the anonymous group. I feel within that topic there was a lot of good discussion and debates on how hacking and cracking were used in the ethically right or wrong context. Beginning with that week I didn’t even know that there were two meanings to the term hacking and that hacking was potentially harmless in nature. The denotation of hacking can be labeled as white hat and the other word for hacking would be labeled as cracking or black hat. I still feel that Tavani gave an excellent example of cracking vs. hacking in his breaking and entering scenario he wrote in his book. I have actually been able to discuss this section with friends telling them to read the excerpt from Tavani and then talking about the differences between the two. We talked about how hacking mainly has a negative connotation synonymous with the word yet it really isn’t that bad. Cracking, however, which is almost never used in any context of technological breaking and entering is pretty much useless to the layperson. I also spoke with my Grandparents on a Sunday before the Packer game and asked them what they specifically thought of when they heard the words “hacking” and “cracking.” They figured that hacking had to do with illegal computer activities whilst cracking had to deal with breaking information. They were surprised to learn that the word hacking doesn’t encompass complete negative aspects of criminal activity yet cracking is far worse. I can’t really say that this certain topic would change my technological behavior because I honestly don’t hack or even come close to cracking. I suppose in my future career in I.T. however this concept may become present in some situations. I can imagine that certain professions need to have security clearance for specific types of files and that could get into a legitimate case of hacking and cracking. If I were tempted to peek inside folder that I wasn’t supposed to I would probably think twice about doing so. I wouldn’t want to be fired for abusing my security clearance or have others in the company not trust me. This section helped to form a safe boundary of what would be and would not be acceptable in a work setting. Onto this week’s class the main point that was carried over was how social media is a hindrance or an advantage to developing nations. Political unrest is usually stirring as nations develop and the nations people decide on what they really want from their government. Many people have different opinions and the use of social media sites allow them to express their opinions in many ways. However with this many governmental authorities in charge may find the person and prosecute them as they see fit. Other ways that social media sites help is in the case of Egypt and Mubarak they were able to gather a protest against the leader of Egypt. Many positive and negative things can coexist with social media network sites in developing nations: it just depends on how everyone decides to interact.