Perpetrators of cybercrime are not all stereotypical hoody wearing figures, and
the term hacking did not originally refer to criminal activity against or
enabled by technology.
The term hacking in
relation to technology is believed to have originated in the mid 1950s with
students from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Tech Model Railroad
club. The members modified the trains and signals and later turned their
attention to tinkering with and enhancing computers and their codes.
These days hacking, when
referring to malicious activity, is when there is unauthorised access to
networks, websites and restricted systems via exploits. There is a misconception
that every cyber intrusion is a result of hacking, however this is not the
case. When criminals have stolen account credentials from someone who has
fallen victim to a phishing email, this is a scam not hacking!