Hackers—and the malware they build and use—have grown up in the last couple of decades. When computers were big putty-colored boxes, hackers were just learning to walk and their pranks were juvenile — maybe they would create a bit of silly malware that did little more than flash “Legalize Marijuana!” or play Yankee Doodle across your screen. As computers have evolved into an economy of their own, hackers, too, have evolved out of those wide-eyed nerds into an audacious army of criminals.
