Are you a hacker?

Yes, I am. But don't stop reading yet.

I don't break into things. I don't crack passwords. I don't try to do harm to people. I don't screw over others for personal gain.

The word "hacker" probably doesn't mean what you think it means. It doesn't mean someone that breaks into computers.

So then, what are you?

I'm a hacker. I find inventive solutions to problems. I write open-source code, and help out people where I can - particularly if it involves a clever technical solution.

This is what the word "hacker" really means.

My homepage will give you an idea of the exact things I'm involved in.

But... what about LulzSec?

I'm not a member of LulzSec, and never have been. Several friends of mine were, and it has been widely reported on.

But what about the IRC logs? Weren't you in the LulzSec channel? And what about the newspaper articles saying you were a member?

The "IRC logs" that you have seen, were from a channel named #pure-elite. While this channel did have a lot of overlap with the memberbase of LulzSec, it was not, as many claimed, "the LulzSec channel". If anything, it was a circle of friends, of which quite a few were involved in LulzSec.

Then why do newspapers call it the LulzSec channel?

Logs of #pure-elite were leaked by one of the participants of the channel. When originally leaking them on the Full-Disclosure mailinglist, he made several claims, one of which was the (implied) claim that it was "the LulzSec channel". Media, as they tend to do, copied this without factchecking, and such this myth started to exist.

I still don't believe you.

Alright. Do you believe government agencies? I have not been arrested for any involvement in LulzSec (or anything else), despite my identity having been public for a long time, for a very simple reason: I wasn't a member and have not committed any crimes under their banner. Had I secretly been involved without telling anyone, don't you think I would have been locked up by now?

My primary day-to-day activities lie in the field of programming, archiving, and generally helping people out. Not in breaking into things. See also my homepage.