Tbf, I learned "hacking" as the word for illegal (cyber) activity long before I've seen it used for "hacking stuff together".
Tbf, I learned "hacking" as the word for illegal (cyber) activity long before I've seen it used for "hacking stuff together".
Back in the '80s, a hacker utilised technology to interesting ends. A cracker (akin to a safe-cracker) broke into things and did damage.
As but one datum point, Steven Levy's book Hackers came out in 1984:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hackers:_Heroes_of_the_Compute...
EDIT: Typo.
Wait until you learn how people use the word "phone" now to describe a small general purpose computer.
Language changes. It's the 2020s not 1980s.
There's too much that's positively aligned with the word 'hacker' to let those who without clue ruin the word for everyone else.
For example I see the term "ethical hacker" used quite often, especially for security professionals, and it's held in high esteem.