Most people picture hackers as people sitting in dark basements, tapping away at their computer with a number of different terminals in front of them. But this is a misconception that was largely created by a misinformed media. Hackers have earned something of a bad name, but there was a point in history when they were little more than scientists that had a passion for modifying operating systems and other pieces of software that they came across.

Over the years, the term “hacker” was increasingly associated with criminal activity, and while there are plenty of people that remember a time when hacking was an term used for engineering and experimentation, today it’s almost always used to describe a person that has done something illegal.

Jonathan James

James was more commonly known online as “c0mrade”, who began his career in hacking at a very young age. He managed to break into several networks, both federal and commercial, and would eventually be sent off to prison for what he did. After stealing source code from NASA, James was apprehended by authorities, and it took the space organisation a total of 3 weeks before their network was back up and running. In 2007, there were several network attacks and although there is no evidence that James was involved, he was one of the primary suspects, and would commit suicide out of fear of going to prison.

Albert Gonzales

Albert Gonzales is widely considered to be one of the greatest hackers that ever lived. He first gained the attention of the public after becoming the leader of a group named ShadowCrew. The group became infamous for stealing credit card information and selling credit card numbers to the highest bidder.

The group was also responsible for creating fraudulent health insurance information, birth certificates, and other similar types of data. Gonzales would eventually be convicted to 20 years in prison after being found guilty for stealing more than 170 million credit card numbers over a period of just two years, so it’s probably easier to make money the traditional way or through mobile cricket betting.

Gary McKinnon

Known across the internet as “Solo”, McKinnon is behind one of the greatest military hack in history. Taking place between 2001 and 2002, McKinnon was able to access almost 100 different computers that belonged to both NASA as well as the United States Armed Forces. He alleged that he was searching for proof of alien and free energy cover ups, but he ended up deleting critical information that ultimately led to over $700,000 in damage.

Anonymous

Anonymous is not technically a single person, but rather a group of people that have caused so much international damage that almost every has heard of them. The group is responsible for hacks into various governmental networks across the world, as well as successful attacks against several large corporations, including Amazon and Sony. The group continues to operate, although many feel that their efforts have become altruistic in recent years.