Hacking Happens

One of the greatest complaints that we, as Information Professionals, hear against Facebook and all the myriad social networking services out there today is that it is too easy to lose sight of the people behind the screen names. We’ve all heard the stories of teens completely disconnecting, of people becoming lost to their friends and families. But what about the other side of the coin: those people who are completely at sea with technology?

For example: A grandmother who simply uses her computer for email and to print photos from her digital camera gets her email hacked. It is easy for us to say that it’s ok, that it happens to everyone, and do a quick lecture on password security.

Remember, however, that we are technologically human and we cannot lose sight of the particular human with whom we are working. This grandmother is probably really quite beside herself at this seeming intrusion. There are levels of emotion involved, and the primary emotion is panic. Who is this stranger who has intruded upon my life, my friends, and often professional contacts? To what else do they have access? How did they gain access? Do they know my home address? Are my grandchildren in danger? The questions are endless and panicked.

The second emotion can either be anger or embarrassment. Or a mixture of both. The person can be angry at the hacker, at themselves, at the person who gave them the technology, or even at the technology itself. The information professional dealing with the angry person must be clued into the distinct nuances of the anger: To whom directed, and why?

Embarassment is similar (and often may lead to anger) in it’s direction. What must my friends, family, or professional contacts think of me now? I hope they don’t think that I am truly ill / insolvent / homeless / etc. Or, on the other hand, a seeming highly technologically literate person got her email hacked and was embarrassed and worried that people thought less of her or thought her stupid.

Hacking happens. It happens so often that it should be a bumper sticker or a t-shirt. Hacking happens. More and more it seems these days as well. And information professionals, librarians, and educators need to be aware and cognizant of the vast range of emotions involved once someone’s online identity is stolen. Because behind that profile or computer screenname is a living, breathing, sometimes emotional person; and it is that person whom we are called to serve.