OM.nl gets disclaimer to distinguish criminals from hackers

The website of the Public Prosecution Service will receive a special disclaimer to explicitly indicate that the word ‘hacking’ is in some cases used in the sense of ‘criminal hacking’ and in some cases in the sense of pushing the boundaries of technology. .

According to Minister Opstelten of Security and Justice, the Public Prosecution Service uses the term ‘hacker’ in multiple meanings. According to him, the ministry makes the distinction between the criminal and general meaning sufficiently clear because of the context in which it is used. “In cases where that context is not clear, the Public Prosecution Service refers to ‘criminal hackers’ or ‘criminals’ in its public statements,” writes Opstelten. “On the OM site, it will be explicitly indicated by means of a disclaimer that hacking is meant in this sense.”

With this, the minister is answering parliamentary questions from PvdA MP Astrid Oosenbrug. He wanted to know from the minister why ‘hacking’ on the Public Prosecution Service’s site is ‘placed in the context of crime’. Eleven different hacker groups wrote about this in an open letter to Opstelten that the Public Prosecution Service used the term ‘unilateral’ and ‘incorrect’ and should limit itself to ‘computer intrusion’ or ‘computer crime’ when it comes to criminal activities.

According to Opstelten, however, it is common in society that the term hacker is used for individuals who are guilty of – in particular – computer intrusion in a criminal sense. He emphasizes that the Public Prosecution Service is ‘fully aware of the added value that hackers have in increasing the digital security of our society’. He refers to hacker in the sense of ‘the hobbyist or professional interested in technology who actively pushes the boundaries of technology or who has specialized in testing the security of computer systems and networks’.