Story has it that the word “hacker” was originally used to call those persons who would like to fuss with machines, devices or gadgets in order to find in them a new functionality which, when created, was not devised to perform, i.e. to bring out extra capacities or practicalities beyond its specifications.
In time, the term was transformed, turned over, twisted and reasocciated until our days, when it transpires multiple concepts and hues. Socially, the term “hacker” started to be associated to what we IT security experts call an attacker or a cybercriminal and therefore it has acquired a negative connotation
http://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/a-short-history-of-hack
Persons who use Information Technology means to commit crimes. Nowadays, there are organized groups that have found in the vulnerabilities of the global IT system an opportunity to easily generate millions of dollars without having to expose themselves physically.
Software, hardware, persons, organizations, systems that are capable of being altered.
Process by which a system can be altered.
The action of altering a system.
Backdoor refers to the unlocked door at the rear of a large property which can be easily trespassed once its existence is known.
If we make an analogy with postal mail, it would be the mail employee who allows letters and packages to be admitted (or not) according to preestablished rules applied on the addresser and addressee.
