The Social Organization of the Computer Underground

Abstract : This paper examines the social organization of the "computer underground" (CU) . The CU is composed of actors in three roles, "computer hackers," "phonephreaks," and "software pirates." These roles have frequently been ignored or confused in media and other accounts of CU activity. By utilizing a data set culled from CU channels of communication this paper provides an ethnographic account of computer underground organization. It is concluded that despite the widespread social network of the computer underground, it is organized primarily on the level of colleagues, with only small groups approaching peer relationships.