Hackers: the good, the bad, the ugly
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   September 3, 1998

   LAS  VEGAS  (CNN) -- Computer hackers normally shun the spotlight, but
   many  of  them came out into the open for the recent Defcon convention
   in  Las  Vegas,  offering  outsiders  a  rare  chance to glimpse their
   distinctive subculture.

   While  most  of  the year, hackers connect via modems and e-mail, here
   they met face-to-face. Fueled by cigarettes and caffeine, they huddled
   in  groups around computers, swapped strategies, exchanged tactics and
   briefed each other on the latest technological developments.

   No business clothes here. The standard apparel was T-shirts and shorts
   (and  forget  about  those  name tags saying "Hello, my name is ...").
   Others opted for an in-your-face look: a spiky dog collar here, a punk
   hairdo   there;   miscellaneous   pierced  noses,  tongues  and  other
   appendages.

  They start early

   Most hackers start practicing their craft by tinkering as kids.

   One  hacker  said  he  got  his  start at age 13, when he broke into a
   credit card database.

   "I knew I shouldn't have been doing it. But I figured: I'm under 15, I
   can't get in that much trouble, can I?" he said.

   The  hacker  community  is divided into two categories. The "white hat
   hackers"  are those paid by corporations and the federal government to
   legally  break  into  systems  to  find  vulnerabilities  in  computer
   software and then fix the flaws.

   The  other  group,  known  as "black hat hackers," are malicious: They
   break  into networks illegally to steal bank account numbers or credit
   cards in order to make money.

  Chasing thrills

   Many hackers say they do break-ins because it's addictive, a thrill --
   and one feels the "power at the fingertips."

   "It's  so  many  things  at the same time: you want the knowledge, you
   want  the  power  -- you just want to be there. You don't want to miss
   out," one of the few women hackers said of her experience.

   A  hacker's idea of having a good time is a race to see which team can
   be  first  to  break  into a computer network. The winning team gets a
   cash prize.

  From outcasts to experts

   Even  though they were once considered outcasts, many hackers now hold
   critical and high-paying jobs with corporations and governments.

   One  group  of  hackers,  called  Lopht, even appeared before Congress
   recently to explain flaws in computer security.

   "It  was  actually  a pretty monumental step forward to see the Senate
   and  large  legislative  groups  almost  embracing hackers and saying:
   'Hey,  you  guys  have  something that you're actually bringing to the
   table,'" said Dr. Mudge, a member of the group.

           Correspondent Ann Kellan contributed to this report.