Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!att!osu-cis!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!cs.utexas.edu!rutgers!bellcore!faline!thumper!ulysses!gamma!sword!arrow!yba
From: yba@arrow.bellcore.com (Mark Levine)
Newsgroups: news.sysadmin
Subject: Re: Security checkup
Keywords: security intruder self-help
Message-ID: <908@sword.bellcore.com>
Date: 6 Oct 88 02:21:37 GMT
References: <167@carpet.WLK.COM> <1454@lznv.ATT.COM> <1834@ddsw1.MCS.COM> <307@mccc.UUCP>
Sender: news@sword.bellcore.com
Reply-To: yba@sabre.bellcore.com (Mark Levine)
Distribution: na
Organization: Bellcore, Red Bank, NJ
Lines: 19

In article <307@mccc.UUCP> pjh@mccc.UUCP (Pete Holsberg) writes:
>
>Could we stop calling those people who break in "hackers"?  Let's not
>continue to support the public's gross misuse of that once-honorable
>appellation.

Strongly seconded.  Break-in artists are also called "crackers", but
this also has a few time-honored traditional meanings.  I don't know
what the appropriate forum is, but if one can be suggested, I think the
floor should be opened for nominations for "buzzword meaning intruder
which the media finds acceptably catchy".  Maybe ACM will adopt
dissemination of same as part of their public relations charter.

The appropriate choice should immediately imply a catchy phrase
to describe the intruder's opposite number in the security business.
Where to follow-up?

Eleazor bar Shimon, once and future Carolingian
yba@sabre.bellcore.com