Volunteer Hackers in the Netherlands by Anne Marte Gardenier
Monday 28 April, 20:00 - 22:00
When we hear the word “hacker”, we often think of someone breaking into systems for malicious reasons. But hacking doesn’t have to be harmful. Across the world, volunteer hackers have been uncovering vulnerabilities in critical computer systems – not to exploit them, but to expose them, in the hope that those responsible would take action to fix them.
In the Netherlands, hacker groups began forming in the 1980s, when digitization was still in its infancy and awareness of internet security was law. Motivated by the desire to create a safer society, many decided to use their hacking skills and point out the security gaps they discovered. This would often lead to clashes with the companies or institutions in question as their willingness to improve the security of the systems was rather low.
In response to several high-profile hacks that attracted media attention, the Computer Crime Act was introduced in 1993. The law imposed fines for hacking, leading many volunteer hackers to stop their activities due to the high legal risks.
However, later policies from both companies and the government eventually began to recognize the value of what came to be known as “ethical hacking”, establishing frameworks that allowed these hackers to contribute to cybersecurity in a more legitimate way. Since these frameworks are still relatively recent, questions remain about their ideal form and the respective roles that volunteer hackers, companies, and governments should play within them.
Anne Marte Gardenier is researcher at Eindhoven University of Technology where she completed her Phd on “technological citizenship”, investigating how citizens can actively engage with technology to form a resilient digital society. In this lecture she will present the case study of volunteer hackers in the Netherlands and relate it to the concept of “technological citizenship”. Join us to hear how volunteer hackers, once seen as outlaws, are increasingly viewed as role models of proper technological citizenship.