7 ms·
All of the "cybercrime" stock photos now just look like regular white-hats working in a post-COVID environment :)
by bowmessage 6y ago
All of the "cybercrime" stock photos now just look like regular white-hats working in a post-COVID environment :)
- FillardMillmore 6y agoI've noticed it before but never thought too deeply about it. Where did this 'stereotypical hacker' image stem from anyway? Computer 'nerds' are often cast with pressed button-up shirts, pocket protectors, and thick glasses. But if they are a 'bad nerd', they suddenly don a mysterious hoodie that covers their face as they work in a cave-like room like some kind of new-age techno-troglodyte?
- trade_unionist 6y agoHow else would you tell the difference, some kind of evil gotee?
- ngneer 6y agoFlexo vs. Bender
- cmehdy 6y agoThe hoodie is already used to typecast criminals, drug dealers in rough neighborhoods, etc. It's also a sign of relative youth (<40 years old). Dark places are an uninventive way to say they're doing something "bad". What's funny is that while they are depicted as being smart/dangerous, they're also depicted as being white and male, which is also a usual sterotype and conveniently forgets the proportion of extremely knowledgeable people of various origins and genders out there.
- dillonmckay 6y agoAnd also people over 40 that wear hoodies.
- toyg 6y agoRepresent!
- colechristensen 6y agoImages and ideas have entered the mythos over the years, I doubt there is a "source" but more of a collective myth which has grown and evolved with some sources in reality and some of reality fashioning themselves after the myth. But also, I have just known lots of computer people that liked to work on their interests late into the night in a dark room. You might say Cyberpunk styles are a source. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyberpunk https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyberpunk
- mycall 6y agoDefinitely William Gibson
- bitwize 6y agoI think it comes from recent popular media, like the Watch_Dogs games and the TV show Mr. Robot. Hoodies are a way to prevent people from seeing or identifying you, so media people use it as a visual shorthand for "this person wishes to conceal their identity". Back in the 90s, hackers were all cybergoth ravers; this image is more in line with the $CURRENT_YEAR zeitgeist in which pervasive surveillance is a top issue.
- andrewflnr 6y agoIt's definitely a lot older than Mr. Robot. They were only playing into the established trope.
- xwdv 6y agoNo bro, it comes from the Unabomber and the iconic police sketch.
- mycall 6y agoHoodies come from gang wear of the 90s, some in the 80s.
- bawolff 6y agoIn an alternate universe, hackers could all have been rollerbladers. I want to live in that universe.
- toyg 6y agoIt’s not “media people”, I can assure you that most modern street criminals wear hoodies. It’s a cheap and easy way to switch to “incognito mode” at will. In places like London and Manchester, most crime-related CCTV will feature hooded thugs. There have been arguments about forbidding hoodies in public areas and shopping malls all the way back to the ‘90s. To be honest it’s as old as capes, we’ve just lost the cape.
- c3534l 6y agoThey're symbolic, not realistic. The only reason they wear a black hoodie is because a striped black and white shirt with a black masquarade mask is because it's too silly.
- mc32 6y agoIt’s an artistic choice because for most victims the cybercriminals are faceless, anonymous strangers who set out to con them.
- krebsonsecurity 6y agoIt was meant as a joke. From the caption: "Yes, I realize hooded hacker stock photos have become a meme, but that’s the point."
- jimmaswell 6y agoI always liked the ones with the hacker wearing a ski mask.