K-State assistant professor: Computer hackers have value in society

In the public imagination, as Kevin Steinmetz said, computer hackers seem to get portrayed like thieves with ski masks, “picking away at keyboards, getting into bank accounts and pilfering other peoples’ money.”

But Steinmetz, a criminologist at Kansas State University, has studied and met a lot of hackers and he sees value in them. Hacker culture is far more diverse, more interesting, more valuable and more sophisticated than most of us realize, he said.

Many hackers are upping everyone’s game in the security industry, he said. Many hackers have hired on with corporations or the U.S. government to protect our interests and our property, here and abroad.

“If there is one thing they’ve taught me, it is the value of not being afraid to turn a rule or an idea on its head and challenge things,” Steinmetz said. “We should encourage people to think differently, not in a way that harms people, but in a way where we all learn to apply ideas differently. We should encourage people to challenge the status quo.”

Steinmetz is an assistant professor of sociology, anthropology and social work at K-State. He studies hacking culture and technology crimes, among other subjects. He talked to many hackers and other skilled technology craftsmen in doing his research.

His latest work, “An Ethnographic Study of Hacking,” has been published in the British Journal of Criminology, according to a statement from Kansas State University. In his work, he defines what a hacker is (and is not) and what it means to “hack.”

They are a diverse lot, he said, but there are unifying qualities.

One valuable trait that defines many of them, Steinmetz said: they think creatively. They look at some new system, perhaps one run by a corporation, and they think, “Is there a way to turn this system on its head?” Many hackers do not consciously set out to flout rules or break laws. They merely want to solve puzzles, in a way.

“Part of hacking and craft-work is a heavy emphasis on finding and solving problems,” he said. “According to one hacker I interviewed, the reason security is such a big focus in hacking is because, ‘That is where all the interesting problems are right now.’ ”

One other hacker trait: Skepticism (and sometimes outright contempt) for authority and rules.

The other thing hackers did was protect us, though that might not have been their original intent, he said. Because hackers began challenging security systems, corporations and governments had to react by stepping up their security game, even hiring skilled hackers.

“It’s hard to condemn all hackers,” he said.

This story was originally published February 22, 2015 at 1:06 PM with the headline "K-State assistant professor: Computer hackers have value in society."