- During the 1960s, universities such as MIT developed huge mainframe computers and utilized students who could push computer software beyond designed parameters--these students were known as hackers.
- During the 1970s, John Draper, nicknamed Captain Crunch, was arrested many times for making free long distance phone calls by using tones.
- Members of California's Homebrew Club developed blue boxes that were later sold and could easily hack into phone systems and make free long distance calls.
- Hackers are split into two groups, known as white hat and black hat. White hats, or ethical hackers, are hired by companies to hack into systems to test security strength, while black hats use their skills to cause problems for companies and government agencies.
- At 16 years old, the first juvenile to be sent to prison for hacking, Jonathan James, bypassed NASA computer software worth $1.7 million to access the organization's computer system.
- Adrian Lamo is famous for penetrating various companies' security systems and informing them of problems. The companies he hacked into include Yahoo and Bank of America.
