The media has always influenced our perceptions of numerous issues and topics, and the topic of hacking is no exception. The media often portrays hacking as one of the greatest evils that can be committed during the modern age and movies that include hacking will usually have the hacking result in catastrophic disasters. The hacking will result in leaked information that only causes harm or systems being hacked that cause mass damage to both people and property. While hacking can result in these outcomes, most incidents aren’t this dangerous and usually include small-scale crimes that result in the loss of money or important information, but not world-ending. Another way the media distorts our perception is the way they portray hackers, typically as extremely smart individuals. While hackers are intelligent, they’re gifted mainly in their field and aren’t always extremely intelligent in every field. However, the media will often portray hackers as geniuses who are skilled in many things, as well as being socially inept and having poor hygiene typically. Hackers can have these characteristics but are generally normal people who are simply talented in the field of hacking. The media will also usually treat hacking as something that is always bad or malicious, but this is the most deceptive of all the ways they portray hackers. Many hackers act maliciously, but many also work for companies to help them find vulnerabilities or work for the companies to defend against threats. This is why there are terms for good and bad hackers (white, grey, and black hat hackers) and hacking itself is an activity, rather than a blanketed crime. Overall, the media hasn’t been kind to hackers, but as awareness of cybersecurity increases, hopefully, the reputation of those gifted in the field will as well.