[Ads-l] "Cracker" (Malicious Hacker) Not Yet in OED

Sun Mar 24 20:49:02 UTC 2024

Terrific citations from Garson and Peter !

Fred Shapiro

________________________________
From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of ADSGarson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM>
Sent: Sunday, March 24, 2024 4:35 PM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Subject: Re: "Cracker" (Malicious Hacker) Not Yet in OED

Great citation, Peter. Following your lead I looked for "computer
cracker" and "computercracker". There are interesting matches for
both. The Los Angeles Times used "computercracker" all the way back in
1969. The newspapers that reprinted the Los Angeles Times article
sometimes added a space to produce: "computer cracker".

Date: November 19, 1969
Newspaper: Los Angeles Times
Section: Financial
Article: Computercracker Newest Business Hazard
Author: Robert A. Rosenblatt (Times Staff Writer)
Quote Page 11
Database: ProQuest

[Begin excerpt]
Businessmen now have a new kind of criminal to worry about - the
computercracker.
The man who makes an illegal living opening safes is after cash. But
the computer thief is after information, the kind of sensitive data
that can be worth millions of dollars to a businessman’s rival.
[End excerpt]

Garson

On Sun, Mar 24, 2024 at 1:48 PM mr_peter_morris at outlook.com
<mr_peter_morris at outlook.com> wrote:
>
> Here's a cite from  circa 1981/2.
>
> "No matter what its size there is little  any victim firm can
> do to defend its data processing system against the expert
> "computer cracker"
>
> The Journal Of Insurance.
>
> https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.co.uk%2Fbooks%2Fedition%2FThe_Journal_of_Insurance%2FQc3xAAAAMAAJ%3Fhl%3Den%26gbpv%3D1%26bsq%3Dcomputer%2B%2522cracker%2522%26dq%3Dcomputer%2B%2522cracker%2522%26printsec%3Dfrontcover&data=05%7C02%7Cfred.shapiro%40YALE.EDU%7Ce7e73d68f2474a26d9eb08dc4c420322%7Cdd8cbebb21394df8b4114e3e87abeb5c%7C0%7C0%7C638469093613835826%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=MQvkTzlE4zE9b6mzfz3%2FpO44YxGRi4YUEs0tfoBjjkw%3D&reserved=0<https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Journal_of_Insurance/Qc3xAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=computer+%22cracker%22&dq=computer+%22cracker%22&printsec=frontcover>
>
>
> ------ Original Message ------
> From "ADSGarson O'Toole" <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM>
> To ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Date 22/03/2024 22:39:40
> Subject Re: "Cracker" (Malicious Hacker) Not Yet in OED
>
> >Here is a supplementary citation with a later date than some citations
> >in my previous message. This cite closely matches the modern sense.
> >The phrase "system cracker" was employed as a self-label. This WSJ
> >article referred to the same event discussed in the citation given by
> >Fred, but this article appeared earlier.
> >
> >Date: April 13, 1983
> >Newspaper: Wall Street Journal
> >Newspaper Location:
> >Article: For Fun or Foul, Computer Hackers Can Crack Any Code
> >Author: Erik Larson (Staff Reporter)
> >Quote Page 1, Column 4
> >Database: ProQuest
> >
> >[Begin excerpt]
> >When their computer started talking dirty, the computer staff members
> >at U.S. Leasing International Inc. knew they had a problem.
> >
> >The company’s typically well-behaved machine had this to say to one of
> >the machine's operators: "The Phantom, the system cracker, strikes
> >again, . . . Soon I will zero (delete) your disks and your backups on
> >System A. I have already crashed your System B. Have fun trying to
> >restore it, you (obscenity)."
> >[End excerpt]
> >
> >Garson
> >
> >On Fri, Mar 22, 2024 at 5:14 PM ADSGarson O'Toole
> ><adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com> wrote:
> >>
> >>  Interesting topic, Fred.
> >>  Fred’s citation is for  "system cracker".
> >>  I conjecture that "password cracker",  "system cracker", and "cracker"
> >>  (with the desired sense) all evolved from "safe cracker". The OED has
> >>  a citation for "safe cracker" in 1873.
> >>
> >>  There is some ambiguity because "password cracker",  "system cracker",
> >>  and "cracker" have been used to refer to both computer programs and to
> >>  the people who break computer security.
> >>
> >>  In 1974 the computer journal Communications of the ACM published an
> >>  article about passwords which were used to control access to early
> >>  time sharing computer systems. The author George B. Purdy proposed the
> >>  use of a one-way cipher to store encrypted computer passwords.
> >>
> >>  Purdy used the term "cracker" when he referred to a person attempting
> >>  to compromise the password system. Hence, this might be considered an
> >>  early use of "cracker" with the desired sense. Admittedly, one needs
> >>  some expertise to recognize what the "cracker" is attempting to
> >>  accomplish in this computer journal article.
> >>
> >>  Purdy used the pronoun "he" when discussing the "cracker"; thus, Purdy
> >>  was referring to a person and not a computer program.
> >>
> >>  Date: August 1974
> >>  Journal: Communications of the ACM
> >>  Volume 17, Number 8
> >>  Article: A High Security Log-in Procedure
> >>  Author: George B. Purdy (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)
> >>  Quote Page 443
> >>
> >>https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdl.acm.org%2Fdoi%2F10.1145%2F361082.361089&data=05%7C02%7Cfred.shapiro%40YALE.EDU%7Ce7e73d68f2474a26d9eb08dc4c420322%7Cdd8cbebb21394df8b4114e3e87abeb5c%7C0%7C0%7C638469093613843933%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=Qm6K9NlrS7YOBS0Wn4tfUhMCBhABW0yHkoH0%2B93iAXo%3D&reserved=0<https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/361082.361089>
> >>https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdl.acm.org%2Fdoi%2Fpdf%2F10.1145%2F361082.361089&data=05%7C02%7Cfred.shapiro%40YALE.EDU%7Ce7e73d68f2474a26d9eb08dc4c420322%7Cdd8cbebb21394df8b4114e3e87abeb5c%7C0%7C0%7C638469093613849681%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=I3J%2BTN0HgqmXbbE9evO6B1KJ3VG7gDRgtF3iDqgeRZI%3D&reserved=0<https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/361082.361089>
> >>
> >>  [Begin excerpt]
> >>  We assume that the cracker has a list of all the assigned Yi and that
> >>  he keeps trying values of x chosen at random from 1 to P, possibly
> >>  trying the same x several times, until he finds an x for which f(x) =
> >>  Yi for some Yi.
> >>  [End excerpt]
> >>
> >>  Here is an example from January 1983 in which "password cracker"
> >>  referred to a computer program and not a human.
> >>
> >>  Discussion Forum: Usenet
> >>  Subject: PASSWD CRACKER CONTEST
> >>  Newsgroup: net.general
> >>  Poster:allegra!ran
> >>  Timestamp: Jan 6, 1983, 3:02:37 AM
> >>
> >>https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgroups.google.com%2Fg%2Fnet.general%2Fc%2FZeultBaryvw%2Fm%2FY6k9WvNFRCcJ&data=05%7C02%7Cfred.shapiro%40YALE.EDU%7Ce7e73d68f2474a26d9eb08dc4c420322%7Cdd8cbebb21394df8b4114e3e87abeb5c%7C0%7C0%7C638469093613853698%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=yrxO4A0ORawKZTIaLvPvjgdRSYnOzwinR%2B6%2BckqRH4s%3D&reserved=0<https://groups.google.com/g/net.general/c/ZeultBaryvw/m/Y6k9WvNFRCcJ>
> >>
> >>  [Begin excerpt]
> >>  Submit your ingenious /etc/passwd password cracker program (source
> >>  code) to the undersigned by January 31, 1983.
> >>  [End excerpt]
> >>
> >>  Here is an example from April 1983 in which  "password-crackers"
> >>  referred to humans who could have heart attacks.
> >>
> >>  Discussion Forum: Usenet
> >>  Subject: HACK Magazine
> >>  Newsgroup: net.jokes
> >>  Poster: floyd!trb
> >>  Timestamp: Apr 1, 1983, 11:48:33 PM
> >>
> >>https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgroups.google.com%2Fg%2Fnet.jokes%2Fc%2FYqzxiyFp_LE%2Fm%2FvjxlZZkvQYMJ&data=05%7C02%7Cfred.shapiro%40YALE.EDU%7Ce7e73d68f2474a26d9eb08dc4c420322%7Cdd8cbebb21394df8b4114e3e87abeb5c%7C0%7C0%7C638469093613857693%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=Bx%2BjeVE6STl6RY5bZa1N9K2DaeTqzm%2FGjd1pAr9n13Q%3D&reserved=0<https://groups.google.com/g/net.jokes/c/YqzxiyFp_LE/m/vjxlZZkvQYMJ>
> >>
> >>  [Begin excerpt]
> >>  Drive password-crackers nuts! Install a null shell that just prints
> >>  prompts which gets exec'd after 5 unsuccessful password attempts.
> >>  Guaranteed to cause heart attacks and early death.
> >>  [End excerpt]
> >>
> >>  Here is an example from June 1983 in which  "sys-crackers" referred to
> >>  humans. This date is later than Fred's excellent citation.
> >>
> >>  Discussion Forum: Usenet
> >>  Subject: Unix Security & Randoms
> >>  Newsgroup: net.unix-wizards
> >>  Poster: edhall%r... at sri-unix.uucp
> >>  Timestamp: Jun 20, 1983, 8:00:00 PM
> >>
> >>  [Begin excerpt]
> >>  In my experience most sys-crackers are 18 or under, and are out to
> >>  'prove' themselves or to engage in a cat-and-mouse game with an
> >>  'authority'. Many are very intelligent and talented; I can only shake
> >>  my head over the incredible waste of their mis-directed efforts.
> >>  [End excerpt]
> >>
> >>  Garson
> >>
> >>  On Fri, Mar 22, 2024 at 6:29 AM Shapiro, Fred <fred.shapiro at yale.edu> wrote:
> >>  >
> >>  > The word "cracker" in its meaning of a malicious hacker is not yet in OED.  Below is the earliest citation I have found in a few minutes of research.  I am sure that people on thie list can push it back further.  Is Hugo still on the list?
> >>  >
> >>  > cracker (malicious hacker)
> >>  >
> >>  > 1983 _Albany_ (Ore.)  _Democrat-Herald_ 1 June 8/3 (Newspapers.com)  When a computer operator tried to check on company investing, the terminal replied only, "The system cracker strikes again."
> >>  >
> >>  > Fred Shapiro
> >>  >
> >>  > ------------------------------------------------------------
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