Greet Scite June 18, 2002 Contrary to popular misconception – perpetuated through mass-market consensus and countless media sources – hackers do not, by definition, break into systems. Setting aside the argument that categorical conflation works just fine for casual conversations – in which you might need to employ verbal shorthand to communicate more quickly – it irks me every time I hear the term “hacker” used solely to indicate a person who breaks into systems with malicious intent.