At the CanSecWest security conference in Vancouver BC, hackers were invited to find and exploit holes in modern browsers. A popular target for hackers at this year’s conference was Safari on a Mac — definitely the lowest hanging fruit.

Richard Matthew Stallman, also known as The Last of the True Hackers, invited for a talk at FRHACK 01, an International IT Security Conference by hackers, for hackers - France, September 7-11, 2009 ...

«... In the terminology of computer hackers (read this article, MIT-style hackers, not information security “crackers”), the ability to exchange data without being encumbered is known as the “free exchange of information.” MIT-style hackers are intellectuals and experimenters.

ESR: "These are people (mainly adolescent males) who get a kick out of breaking into computers and phreaking the phone system. Real hackers call these people ‘crackers’ and want nothing to do with them.

"...Here are the [Ogg] multimedia recordings of the talks from GNU Hackers Meeting 2008. A meeting for GNU hackers (maintainers and active contributors) in Bristol (UK)..."

Even criminal hackers want to protect their intellectual property, and they've come up with a method akin to copyrighting - with an appropriate dash of internet thuggery thrown in.

"...Journalism needs great hackers. Not just nerds, but programmers who care -- about the values of journalism and the power of a free press to hold government accountable. Luckily, hackers are a freedom-minded bunch. The free software movement is rooted in many of the same principals that guide journalism.

Hackers now have their own social network, backed by GnuCitizen, a high-profile "ethical hacking" group.

« Registration is now open for the GNU Hackers Meeting on 11-13 November in Gothenburg, Sweden. It is being held jointly with the FSCONS conference on 14-15 November. The meeting is intended for active GNU contributors and its theme is "the continued advancement of the GNU system"...