y wanted without leaving a
trace of any kind.

The best hackers, the most powerful and technically accomplished, were
not professional fraudsters. They raided computers habitually, but
wouldn't alter anything, or damage anything. They didn't even steal
computer equipment--most had day-jobs messing with hardware, and could
get all the cheap secondhand equipment they wanted. The hottest
hackers, unlike the teenage wannabes, weren't snobs about fancy or
expensive hardware. Their machines tended to be raw second-hand
digital hot-rods full of custom add-ons that they'd cobbled together
out of chickenwire, memory chips and spit. Some were adults, computer
software writers and consultants by trade, and making quite good
livings at it. Some of them ACTUALLY WORKED FOR THE PHONE COMPANY--and
for those, the "hackers" actually found under the skirts of Ma Bell,
there would be little mercy in 1990.

It has long been an article of faith in the underground that the "best"
hackers never get caught. They're far too smart, supposedly. They
never get caught because they never boast, brag, or strut. These
demigods may read underground boards (with a condescending smile), but
they never say anything there. The "best" hackers, according to
legend, are adult computer professionals, such as mainframe system
administrators, who already know the ins and outs of their particular
brand of security. Even the "best" hacker can't break in to just any
computer at random: the knowledge of security holes is too specialized,
varying widely with different software and hardware. But if people are
employed to run, say, a UNIX mainframe or a VAX/VMS machine, then they
tend to learn security from the inside out. Armed with this knowledge,
they can look into most anybody else's UNIX or VMS without much trouble
or risk, if they want to. And, according to hacker legend, of course
they want to, so of course they do. They just don't make a big deal of
what they've done. So nobody ever finds out.

It is also an article of faith in the underground that professional
telco people "phreak" like crazed weasels. OF COURSE they spy on
Madonna's phone calls--I mean, WOULDN'T YOU? Of course they give
themselves free long-distance--why the hell should THEY pay, they're
running the whole shebang!

It has, as a third matter, long been an article of faith that any
hacker caught can escape serious punishment if he confesses HOW HE DID
IT. Hackers seem to