Are hackers the new rock stars?

Today I had the awesome opportunity to attend a workshop on #digital security, expertly facilitated by Harry Karanja and organized by CIPESA and KICTANET. It was aimed at journalists, bloggers and activists and was held at the beautiful Riara University.

Day 1 went very well and I learned a lot of useful information, including about digital security tools such as torproject.org. But one issue that emerged during the group discussions was the issue of the “good hacker” or “hacking with permission”. Is there such a thing as a good hacker or is that an oxymoron? Isn’t hacking, by its very nature, “wrong”? Tomorrow, on day 2, we will be discussing the ethical and legal aspects of digital content/ digital content providers and I am really looking forward to it! But I just couldn’t help myself: I had to Google “ are hackers the new rock stars?” :-) Below are some of the very interesting sites that resulted from that Google search

“Are hackers the new rockstars”
Here is an excerpt from the article by Richard Kastelein: “TV is ripe for change. Forbes [magazine] says theres half a trillion dollars up for grabs as the Internet collides with TV." A very good example is the ROFFEKE TV channel, courtesy of brandcoder.com Kastelein goes on to write that: “Both print and music have been hit hard by the web and theres no reason to think that TV is immune from rapid and enormous change to the current value chain.” He then gives us some mind-boggling statistics about “The rise of the second screen”: (1)In the US, 77% Use TV and Internet simultaneously (2)87% of US Smartphone and 88% of tablet owners use it while watching TV (3)44% of total tablet usage is while watching TV (4)72% of under 25s in the UK comment on programs via social networks. “All these developments…are deeply affecting the TV industry as scarcity is removed due to IP delivered content. Innovation is what will save the industry…”

The article poses this interesting question: “…who does not want a developer (hacker) community like Apple, Facebook and Google? Each company basically has 50,000 developers on spec, driving innovation at the speed of light.” Apparently many people in the TV industry are not yet ready to embrace hackers, um, I mean “developers” because: “…the walls are still high and tight intellectual property ownership is the core of the business. But building higher walls is not the answer. Its not going to save the TV industry.” The article closes with this thought-provoking morsel about what will save the TV industry: “Innovation will. And that’s likely to come from the outside [including hackers?] not inside [Entertainment industry executives and stakeholders].

Other articles that deal with the theme of hackers being the new rock stars include: “Hacker to InfoSec Pro: New Rock Star Generation” This talk was at the South by Southwest film festival: "Malicious hackers tend to be smart, young – many are only teenagers – and they seek respect, power and financial gain. Many of them perceive hacking like being a rock star – they jump into the action and start reaping the rewards. But what if we could help young malicious hackers understand the damage they are doing, the legal ramifications of their actions, and how these actions could hamper their future? What if we could reshape their mindsets and encourage them to channel their work into something more productive – like Information Security, white hat hacking or even working with the government? It’s a wonder that the InfoSec and IT industries have a shortage of talent when salaries are rising and work is comparable to that of hackers, but they are doing it for good. It’s time we turn InfoSec and IT professionals into the new rock stars, the new hot ticket future for the hacker generation. This panel is going to address why and what we need to do, and how to start making change." The South by Southwest conferences and festivals: "...offer the unique convergence of original music, independent films, and emerging technologies."

“New York City’s newest rock stars: the IT boys” Aaron Elstein writes: "There may be no surer sign that the cybersecurity experts' moment has arrived than the newfound attention they get from celebrities. Glee star Jane Lynch kicked off a trade show in San Francisco last month by tweaking the lyrics to a classic David Bowie song to express how angry she is at cybercriminals and ready for ch-ch-changes. "Work to save domains," she crooned."

“Mondelez: Coders and hackers the new rock stars” "Coders are the next rockstars. We're entering an economy where we can create greater value by breaking things. [Corporates] have to hack and break ourselves to be better and create a different future for start ups and different future for ourselves.”

“What developers think when you say “Rock Star”. One interesting thought by timwiseman: “I’ve always felt like going to a “rock star” job interview with dyed blue hair in a Mohawk, ripped jeans, chains, black string vest, black nail polish, black eye liner, leather jacket, walk in late and demand only blue M&Ms” :-) And “ANH” added: “Don’t forget to bite the head off a bat and trash the place on your way out.” :-) Zachwaugh said: “If by rock star, you mean someone that parties all night, comes in late and hungover, has weird contractual demands, and trashes hotel rooms on business trips, then yes, I guess I’m a rock star. When do I start?" :-) smokey-the-bear revealed that: “A Microsoft rectruiter told me I was a rockstar after an internship interview in 2001. It felt awesome at the time. But now it sounds like a dated way to recruit 19 year olds.” Motters1716 points out that: “The whole notion of software engineers having much in common with rock stars seems rather misguided. Being a software engineer does not usually involve making loud noises, trashing hotel rooms, having a shallow superficial personality, attracting teenage groupies of the opposite sex, repeatedly firing your manager or buying football teams.” Iph981716 says: “A rock star is somebody who plays in a rock band! There is no such thing as a rock star developer. It’s a stupid term. You have no inherent connection with rock music, you are not famous and don’t have thousands of adoring fans.”