Should we fear hackers? Intention is at the heart of this discussion.

A hacker doesnt deliberately destroy data or profit from his activities.

I get hired to hack into computers now and sometimes it's actually easier than it was years ago.

Hackers are breaking the systems for profit. Before, it was about intellectual curiosity and pursuit of knowledge and thrill, and now hacking is big business.

All they need to do is to set up some website somewhere selling some bogus product at twenty percent of the normal market prices and people are going to be tricked into providing their credit card numbers.

So the ethic I was taught in school resulted in the path I chose in my life following school.

Computer hacking really results in financial losses and hassles. The objectives of terrorist groups are more serious. That is not to say that cyber groups can't access a telephone switch in Manhattan on a day like 9/11, shut it down, and therefore cause more casualties.