Hacker

<p>A hacker is a person skilled in <a href="/facts/Information_technology/glMzunwe">information technology</a> who achieves goals and solves problems by non-standard means. The term has become associated in <a href="/facts/Popular_culture/cKj0ho02">popular culture</a> with a <a href="/facts/Security_hacker/4bAJ9F1A">security hacker</a> – someone with knowledge of <a href="/facts/Bug_(computing)/I1uSXySv">bugs</a> or <a href="/facts/Exploit_(computer_security)/EdlqsRJM">exploits</a> to break into computer systems and access <a href="/facts/Data/AUBFN97o">data</a> which would otherwise be inaccessible to them. In a positive connotation, though, hacking can also be utilized by legitimate figures in legal situations. For example, <a href="/facts/Law_enforcement_agencies/LBQN5bl8">law enforcement agencies</a> sometimes use hacking techniques to collect evidence on criminals and other malicious actors. This could include using anonymity tools (such as a <a href="/facts/Virtual_private_network/HX1WUQ3E">VPN</a> or the <a href="/facts/Dark_web/A40ffCpy">dark web</a>) to mask their identities online and pose as criminals.
</p><p>Hacking can also have a broader sense of any roundabout solution to a problem, or programming and hardware development in general, and <a href="/facts/Hacker_culture/8ww6P79y">hacker culture</a> has spread the term's broader usage to the general public even outside the profession or hobby of electronics (see <a href="/facts/Life_hack/ewPa1rUp">life hack</a>).
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Hacker open-in-new

Hacker