Douglas Thomas offers an in-depth history of this important and fascinating subculture, contrasting mainstream images of hackers with a detailed firsthand account of the computer underground. Thomas studies novels and films (Neuromancer, WarGames, Hackers, and The Matrix) and reveals contemporary views of hackers as technological wizards, high-tech pranksters, and virtual criminals. Thomas then examines the court cases of Kevin Mitnick and Chris Lamprecht to determine how hackers are defined as criminals. Thomas finds that popular hacker stereotypes express the public’s anxieties about the information age far more than they do the reality of hacking.
- ISBN10 0816633460
- ISBN13 9780816633463
- Publish Date 2 June 2003 (first published 31 December 2002)
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country US
- Imprint University of Minnesota Press
- Format Paperback
- Pages 296
- Language English