What is a computer hacker?
The article focuses on computer hardware hacking and the methods and rationales for this practice. A computer hardware hacker operates in a mode that is the opposite of an academic researcher, the author argues. The author focuses on the hacking work of Andrew Huang while he was a Ph.D. candidate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Huang worked on taking apart the hardware of Microsoft's original Xbox game device in 2001. His work identified potential security vulnerabilities of the device and gave Microsoft insight into what computer hackers may choose to do with such devices.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF HARDWARE HACKING
Hardware hacking dates back almost 200 years. Charles Babbage's Difference Engine In the early 1800s was a mechanical form of hardware hacking. The method William Crookes used to discover the electron in the mid-i8oos might have been the first form of electronics-related hardware hacking. Hardware hackers have since been involved in the development of wireless telegraphy, vacuum tubes, radio, television, and transistors. Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesia, and Alexander Graham Bell were all hardware hackers. So were William Hewlett and David Packard and Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak.
Contrary to how the word hacker is sometimes used to describe criminals breaking into computer systems, a hacker can be defined more simply as someone involved in the exploration of technology. A "hack" in the technology world usually defines a new and novel creation or method of solving a problem, typically in an unorthodox fashion [2-4]. Here, I focus on an idealistic vision of hardware hackers—the good guys—even though some people, corporations, and agencies may use the same techniques for illegal, illegitimate, or unethical purposes, seeking some sort of financial gain or market advantage. Hardware hacking means different things to different people, coming down to personal preferences, as in art or music. Someone can be taught, to a point, to have the hacker mindset and break the mold of conventional thinking, but hacking goes much further. It is a passion, a drive, something that stems from some amount of anti-establishment and anti-authority sentiment coupled with the desire to do things on one's own agenda and with one's own hands. Hardware hacking is the technologists' version of the classic
phrase "Don't judge a book by its cover." Hackers are driven by a variety of motivations:
Cunosit^ and jun. See how things work, scratch the curiosity itch, and have fun experimenting with and modifying products;
Education. Learn by doing;
Improvement and innovation. Build a better mousetrap;
Consumer protection. Ensure a product does what its marketing pitch claims it to do. Often distrustful of marketing or sales literature, hackers want to find out for themselves whether certain claims are true and how they can make a particular product do more; and
Security. Test whether hardware devices are secure, identifying failures or weaknesses. Beyond strengthening the perceived value of a product, it allows users to mitigate the risk of an attack by updating, fixing, or discarding the product.
Most hardware hacks fall into four categories:
Personalizing and customizing. Often called "hotrodding for geeks" it includes modifications, custom skins, and even art projects (such as creating an aquarium out of a vintage computer);
Adding functionality. Making the system or product do something it wasn't intended to do (such as converting an iPod to run Linux or modifying a classic Atari 2600 video game console to support stereo sound and composite video output);
Improving capacity or performance. Enhancing or otherwise upgrading a product (such as expanding the recording capacity of a TiVo box by adding a larger hard drive, modifying a wireless network card to support an external antenna, or overclocking a PC's motherboard);
Defeating protection and security mechanisms. Included are finding "Easter eggs," hidden menus, and backdoors in DVD players or video game consoles or creating a custom cable to unlock the secrets of a cell phone.
Reverse engineering, generally viewed as a subset of hardware hacking, is essentially the art of learning from practical examples and experience. Examining technologies or any kind of product to see how they work is an integral part of the hardware hacking process and is a great way to learn the state of the art. I use reverse engineering to add to my mental toolbox of circuit designs, manufacturing techniques, and printed circuit board layout tricks, all of which improve my knowledge of the product development process.
Reverse engineering and hardware hacking represent continuing education, interconnected with developing new products and technologies.
