Josh Linkner describes the twisted mind-set and tactics of criminal hackers. He engagingly persuades you to change your attitude toward hacker techniques like crowdsourcing, rapid experimentation, reverse engineering and mash-ups by showing how executives and entrepreneurs can use them to achieve business and social breakthroughs. Even though some suggestions might seem like familiar creative techniques under another name, his ideas offer fresh insights about turning hackers’ methods to good purpose.
Productive Hackers Versus Criminal Crackers
Broadly, all hacking embodies innovation and creativity that challenges orthodox thinking. Hacking almost always results in something new that changes popular thinking. But criminals who break the law by breaking into systems and disrupting them for theft and exploitation are quite different from legitimate hackers who use their skills to innovate, solve problems and succeed in lawful business. Experts call the criminals “crackers” and see those who hack to discover and improve business or society as the real hackers.
Entrepreneurs such as Mark Zuckerberg, for example, hack their way to success. Facebook owes its social media dominance to a culture of hacking. Zuckerberg even changed the address of Facebook headquarters to 1 Hacker Way, Menlo Park, California.
Hacker Mind-Sets
Hackers share five foundational beliefs:
- “Every barrier can be penetrated” – Hackers believe they can crack any problem and solve it if they ask enough questions...
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