Akademik

n.

A hacker who uses his or her talents for malicious or criminal ends. (Also known as a cracker.)

Having a DSL or cable modem service means you have high-speed access to the Internet, but there is a downside. Your computer becomes a tempting target for dark-side hackers who can more easily break in and steal your banking records, credit card numbers and passwords. If you've graduated from a dial-up connection, you should get some kind of firewall protection.

— Mark Frauenfelder, "Living online," Playboy, June 1, 2001

When computer hacker Kevin Mitnick arrived at a Calabasas parking garage for a meeting with his friend Lenny DiCicco four weeks ago, DiCicco reached up and casually scratched his head, a prearranged signal to federal agents hiding nearby.

Quickly, with the sound of screeching tires and shouted commands, a half dozen men closed in and handcuffed Mitnick. "Len, why did you do this to me?" Mitnick asked as he was being led away, DiCicco recalled later.

"Because you're a menace to society," DiCicco replied.

Law enforcement authorities couldn't agree more. Mitnick, 25, an overweight, bespectacled San Fernando Valley computer junkie known as a "dark side" hacker for his willingness to use the computer as a weapon, has been accused of causing $4 million in damage to computer giant Digital Equipment Corp. in Massachusetts.

— John Johnson, "Computer an 'umbilical cord to his soul'," Los Angeles Times, January 8, 1989