Hacking has become a broad enough term, used in so many different contexts with so much accompanying subtext for each of those

contexts, that it is generally useful to define what sort of hacking you're talking about

when you address it as a topic. Very broadly, hackers, in the most expansive possible meaning

of the word, like to bypass limitations within complex systems.

Sometimes that means hacking hardware to come up with your own solution to a problem you're facing,

building your own security system out of bits and pieces from other products,

alongside 3D printed cases and stands and hand-soddered electrical components.

Sometimes that means figuring out ways to bypass or find advantage within formal structures and rigid systems.

Sometimes it means cracking safes by learning the weaknesses of a particular model or by honing one's skills

at listening for a telltale click,

associated with a combination lock giving way, or keyhole components being shifted around

in a manner that approximates the presence of the proper key.

Sometimes, though, and this is the definitional branch that many of us take,

when we think about hacking and hackers today.

Sometimes hackers use knowledge, tools, and cleverness to overcome security features in computers.

And that includes software that is isolated to a single machine, but it also means hacking other machines remotely or gleaning information that's meant to be

tucked away, locked up, and kept secret by an individual government corporation or otherwise

in some kind of digital setup. Traditional hacker culture focused more on the challenge

of performing such feats than any other reward, and many early hackers

adhered to a code that aligned with a generally accepted set of ethical guidelines, many

of which oriented around making more information free and open and accessible, breaking down

barriers put into place by those in power and used against those not in power,

...