What are the good and the bad sides of hacking?

Answer 1

On Wikipedia, a hacker is defined as such:

"Hacker, as it relates to computers, has several common meanings. Hacker is often used by the mass media to refer to a person who engages in computer cracking and is also often by those in computing fields to refer to a person who is a computer enthusiast. At least three major hacker subcultures, characterized by their largely distinct historical development, use the term in their jargon for self-identification. They are centered around different, but partially overlapping aspects of computers and have conflicting ideas about who may legitimately be called a hacker (see hacker definition controversy). In computer security, a hacker is someone who focuses on security mechanisms. In common use, which was popularized by the mass media, that refers to someone who illegally breaks into computer and network systems. That is, the media portrays the 'hacker' as a villain. Nevertheless, parts of the subculture see their aim in correcting security problems and use the word in a positive sense. They operate under a code of the Hacker Ethic, in which it's acknowledged that breaking into other people's computers is bad, but that discovering and exploiting security mechanisms and breaking into computers is nevertheless an interesting aspect that can be done in an ethical and legal way. This use is contrasted by the different understanding of the word as a person who follows a spirit of playful cleverness and loves programming. It is found in an originally academic movement unrelated to computer security and most visibly associated with free software and open source. It also has a hacker ethic, based on the idea that writing software and sharing the result is a good idea, but only on a voluntary basis, and that information should be free, but that it's not up to the hacker to make it free by breaking into private computer systems. Academic hackers disassociate from the mass media's pejorative use of the word 'hacker' referring to computer security, and usually prefer the term 'cracker' for that meaning. In a third meaning, the term refers to computer hobbyists who push the limits of their software or hardware."

So by this definition the bad side is essentially fear mongering and a few individuals giving the whole group a bad name. According to the various legitimate definitions, there is plenty of good that can and has come from hacking. Most of the wondrous technical achievements of the past fifty years can be attributed to hackers at play, from the advent of Video Games with Spacewar! on the PDP-1 to the Mars rovers, and SpaceShipOne.

Every community will have its bad eggs, but if one only focuses on the few, they miss the benefit of the many.

Answer 2

Pros:
There are some Software businesses that hire hackers to check for Flaws.

They can get things free, but most of the time, in an Illegal way.

Cons:
If the hacker is doing something for his own gain, and knows its illegal, usually they get jailed.