Hacking is a set of practices with code that provides the state an opportunity to defend and expand itself onto the internet. Bringing together science and technology studies and sociology scholarship on boundary objects and boundary work, we develop a theory of the practices of the hacker state. To do this, we investigate weaponized code, the state’s boundary work at hacker conferences, and bug bounty programmes. In the process, we offer a depiction of the hacker state as aggressive, networked, and adaptive.
This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Information, Communication & Society on 16 June 2020, available online: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1369118X.2020.1776368
