cracker

Hacker jargon used to describe one who breaks security on a system. This term was coined circa 1985 by hackers in defense against journalistic misuse of the word "hacker." While it is expected that hackers will have done some playful cracking, most outgrow the desire to break security (except perhaps to get some work done). Crackers tend to gather in small, secretive groups that have little overlap with hacker culture. They like to describe themselves as hackers (but hackers consider them lame). A cracker is also one who can crack a software program.