Altair 8800 Computer

There are so many similarities between ethical hackers and beekeepers that I figured they must have been separated at birth. Consider this:

  • The object of their affection is a box that hums constantly, generates heat, and displays a high level of intelligence. Computers and bee colonies are savants – they are intelligent in narrowly defined ways that exceed average human performance levels.
  • Their passion toward bees or computers is an intellectual curiosity more than the emotional co-dependence shown by some pet owners. Computers and thousand of stinging bees are not known for returning the affections shown by their owners. But then there is the honey…
  • They both wear white hats. Beekeepers can be found wearing a white pith-style helmets with a veil when working the bees. The hard rim of the pith helmet keeps the netting (and stingers) away from the beekeeper’s face. Virtuous hackers are referred to as “white hats” to contrast them from “black hats” or hackers that release viruses, break into networks, and steal property. The etymology of the term comes from old western movies where you could tell the good guys from the bad guys from the color of their hats.
  • Beekeepers and hackers are rugged individualists and independent thinkers. Although organizations for each exist, hacking and beekeeping tends to be an individual initiative and effort. They are what cowboys and explorers have evolved into. The people Who-Spend-Each-Night-Watching-Reality-TV-Shows may think that they are a little weird but beekeepers and hackers are ok with that.

The greatest similarity between beekeepers and ethical hackers and the one thing that binds all people of virtue is that they practice their craft for the benefit of all humanity.

  • Without the efforts of beekeepers, honey bees may become extinct in your lifetime. Honey bees cannot live in the wild as they did only 20 years ago. During the 2009-2010 winter, over 30% of managed bee hives in the United States died! And a lot of the foods we love – foods that depend on bees for pollination – will either disappear or become commercially nonviable. Strawberries, almonds, Alfalfa (beef!), Canola oil, melons, fugetaboutit. If you like food, thank a beekeeper.
  • Without the efforts of ethical hackers, open source software developers, and creative commons content creators, our lives would likewise be bereft of many wondrous things we take for granted. There would be no Internet as we know it: no Linux, no Firefox, and no Wikipedia. As of February 2010, the open source Apache web server powered over 54% of all web servers on the frickin planet…and over 66% of the planet’s busiest web servers. Without high quality, open source software and creative common content, proprietary software would be even more expensive and unreliable than it is already. All hacking is a creative expression of leveraging technology in unique and innovative ways. Bad hackers release viruses into the world, they steal, and they break in to computers. They are miscreants that get some kind of twisted psychological satisfaction from hurting others. Like child molesters. But virtuous hackers imagine a better world and they take a personal initiative to realize it. Like Gandhi or Martin Luther King. Do not confuse the white hats with the black hats.