Hacker Definitions in Information Systems Research

ABSTRACT

The IS research community has called for more research on hackers and their behavioral motivations. One of the reasons that research on hackers has been so limited is that there is no clear definition of what a hacker is, or who may or may not be considered a hacker. Researchers have attempted to define the term hacker, yet overall attempts to craft a definition have been inconsistent and partially complete. The purpose of this paper is to present results from an inductive, qualitative study of how the term hacker has been defined in IS literature. We reviewed the leading IS journals to identify previously-used hacker definitions. The review and analysis conducted in this paper yields a more comprehensive definition of the term hacker to help advance hacker-related IS research efforts.

KEYWORDS:

• Hacker definitions
• inductive
• qualitative review
• hacker behavior

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Mr. Arpit Sharma for his assistance with this project.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

DeJarvis Oliver

DeJarvis Oliver is currently a doctoral student in the Michael J. Coles College of Business at Kennesaw State University. He holds a Master's of Science degree in Information Systems from from Kennesaw State University. His research interests are health information privacy and information security.

Adriane. B. Randolph

Adriane B. Randolph: Founder and executive director of the BrainLab and Professor of Information Systems in the Michael J. Coles College of Business at Kennesaw State University. She earned a Ph.D. in Computer Information Systems from Georgia State University and a B.S. in Systems Engineering with Distinction from the University of Virginia. Her research of nearly two decades focuses on brain-computer interface systems which allow hands-free control of technology for people living locked-in to their bodies and reflect varying cognitive states. This work falls under the umbrellas of human-computer interaction and neuroIS. She has published manuscripts in the Communications of the AIS, International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction, AIS Transactions on Human Computer Interaction, and the ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing. She has been featured as a speaker for multiple TEDx and industry events and as an innovator invited to attend President Obama’s White House Frontiers Conference.  She has received federal and private grant funding, and she has served as a longtime program co-chair for the annual Retreat on NeuroIS. Prior to academia, she worked for Accenture as a change management consultant.