ems and to
benefit all of mankind. "As we can see, this has not been the case.
The computer system has been solely in the hands of big businesses and
the government. The wonderful device meant to enrich life has become a
weapon which dehumanizes people. To the government and large
businesses, people are no more than disk space, and the government
doesn't use computers to arrange aid for the poor, but to control
nuclear death weapons. The average American can only have access to a
small microcomputer which is worth only a fraction of what they pay for
it. The businesses keep the true state-of-the-art equipment away from
the people behind a steel wall of incredibly high prices and
bureaucracy. It is because of this state of affairs that hacking was
born. ( ... ) "Of course, the government doesn't want the monopoly of
technology broken, so they have outlawed hacking and arrest anyone who
is caught. ( ... ) The phone company is another example of technology
abused and kept from people with high prices. ( ... ) "Hackers often
find that their existing equipment, due to the monopoly tactics of
computer companies, is inefficient for their purposes. Due to the
exorbitantly high prices, it is impossible to legally purchase the
necessary equipment. This need has given still another segment of the
fight: Credit Carding. Carding is a way of obtaining the necessary
goods without paying for them. It is again due to the companies'
stupidity that Carding is so easy, and shows that the world's
businesses are in the hands of those with considerably less technical
know-how than we, the hackers. ( ... ) "Hacking must continue. We
must train newcomers to the art of hacking. (....) And whatever you
do, continue the fight. Whether you know it or not, if you are a
hacker, you are a revolutionary. Don't worry, you're on the right
side."

The defense of "carding" is rare. Most hackers regard credit-card
theft as "poison" to the underground, a sleazy and immoral effort that,
worse yet, is hard to get away with. Nevertheless, manifestos
advocating credit-card theft, the deliberate crashing of computer
systems, and even acts of violent physical destruction such as
vandalism and arson do exist in the underground. These boasts and
threats are taken quite seriously by the police. And not every hacker
is an abstract, Platonic computer-nerd. Some few are quite experienced
at picking locks, robbing phone-trucks, and breaking an