"It was used for decades to describe talented computer enthusiasts, people whose skill at using computers to solve technical problems and puzzles was - and is - respected and admired by others possessing similar technical skills."

"I get hired by companies to hack into their systems and break into their physical facilities to find security holes. Our success rate is 100% we've always found a hole."

"My actions constituted pure hacking that resulted in relatively trivial expenses for the companies involved, despite the government's false claims."

"Are hackers a threat? The degree of threat presented by any conduct, whether legal or illegal, depends on the actions and intent of the individual and the harm they cause."

"The Internet is so big, so powerful and pointless that for some people it is a complete substitute for life."

"Without competition, the spectacular development of technology that we have seen in the last one hundred years in this country would not have happened."

"In today's knowledge-based economy, what you earn depends on what you learn. Jobs in the information technology sector, for example, pay 85 percent more than the private sector average."

"Advances in the technology of telecommunications have proved an unambiguous threat to totalitarian regimes everywhere."