The name of this hacker is Abdul-Rahman Mahaini, he is 26 years old and he lives in Damascus, Syria. According to him, he has so far cracked software programs worth millions of dollars and he will continue to do so, no matter how difficult it is to crack a certain program. He says that he does not do this for the hacking thrill, but because of the software sales restrictions imposed on Syria by the US. It all boils down to the fact that, since you cannot buy it, you can always hack it.
Abdul-Rahman Mahaini is not easily deterred by the complexity of a program or the measures employed to make cracking it more difficult. As long as you can get hold of him, he will be more than happy to hack into any software program you'll give him. The thing is that Abdul follows a strict ethical guide and he will not go against it; so you might as well forget about asking him to break into someone's e-mail or bank account. But if you want him to crack GTA IV, he will do it for as little as $2.
Hackers such as Abdul are seen as the modern version of Robin Hood in Syria, because it is practically impossible for US software developers to sell their products there. The only viable means of getting hold of much needed software is through the aid of hackers. "If you try to deprive me, I will take it from you," says Abdul as cited by the LA Times.
According to Abdul, there is a key difference between a hacker and a cracker: "Crackers destroy. Hackers create. When you're a professional hacker, you are a distinguished type of person. There's something sacred in the world of hackers."
Of course, there are some who approach the current situation in Syria from a political point of view. Samir Hamade, information science teacher with the Kuwait University comments: "This is the way they're fighting back against American aggression. They say a lot of companies are giving money to Israel, so it's even better to use pirated software than licensed software since you're taking money from Israel."
