Are virus writers hackers?
No. The virus writers are the bottom of the food chain. Real hackers have a systems skill set. Once you write a virus, it goes on without you. Hackers don’t think that’s cool; the whole thing with hacking is manipulating and controlling systems. Q: Some virus writers claim they’re actually helping the problem by doing cutting-edge research as they study how to write the programs. Is that true? A: They think their work is new and high-end, but it’s not. These programs really are simple. I can understand how they would believe that this is stretching the limits of research, but the reality is, they’re reinventing the wheel. Virus writing doesn’t require a very high level of skill. I think the media made it a little more acceptable to write viruses for a while, because they portrayed virus writers as really skilled. Q: Do they ever admit they were wrong? A: Generally, they’re older, around 24 to 25, when they realize they shouldn’t have done it. It used to happen at 20 to 22; it’s getting
