Hacking. Used to be that’s what happened when you had a cold or other illness.

Now it is a term for one of the most disruptive and invasive crimes short of burglary. I read or see on the news each day, or so it feels, that yet another system has been compromised by a hacker. The results vary from national security to personal information getting out to people we don’t want it to.

It takes a lot of intelligence and ingenuity to hack into a system that is supposedly secure. A few people who would dispute that, and say it’s so easy to hack into a system that a child could do it. I would hope my child would not do such a thing.

It is illegal, irresponsible and rude to invade and disrupt a system that is designed to help people and provide ease of communication. I personally enjoy a few of the perks of the Internet to keep in touch with new-found family living abroad.

Why don’t these hackers cough up their expertise and energy and help make the Internet a safer and less stressful place to enjoy shopping, family and protect the safety of our nation. Wouldn’t it be nicer to be helpful rather than destructive? It would be much more rewarding in the long run.

Ed WheatonPittston