A hacker who hires out for legal cracking jobs, snooping for factions
in corporate political fights, lawyers pursuing privacy-rights and
First Amendment cases, and other parties with legitimate reasons to
need an electronic locksmith. In 1991, mainstream media reported the
existence of a loose-knit culture of samurai that meets
electronically on BBS systems, mostly bright teenagers with personal
micros; they have modeled themselves explicitly on the historical
samurai of Japan and on the "net cowboys" of William Gibson's
{cyberpunk} novels. Those interviewed claim to adhere to a rigid
ethic of loyalty to their employers and to disdain the vandalism and
theft practiced by criminal crackers as beneath them and contrary to
the hacker ethic; some quote Miyamoto Musashi's Book of Five Rings, a
classic of historical samurai doctrine, in support of these
principles. See also {sneaker}, {Stupids}, {social engineering},
{cracker}, {hacker ethic}, and {dark-side hacker}.
[glossary]
[Reference(s) to this entry by made by: {cracker}{dark-side hacker}{hacker ethic}{sneaker}{social engineering}{Stupids}]