pedestrian hacker

English

Noun

pedestrian hacker (plural pedestrian hackers)

1. A typical hacker; a person who uses a computer to gain unauthorized access without using extraordinary equipment or brilliance.
   • 1996, International Trade Reporter: Current reports:

     According to Leahy, programs allowed out of the United States are "so weak that, according to a January 1996 study conducted by world-renowned cryptographers, a pedestrian hacker can crack the codes in a matter of hours.

   • 2008, Neil Sholer, Abacus: A candidate for sha-3 (Submission to NIST):

     Of course, different people (and different organizations) have different amounts of these resources. In 2006, Bart Preneel estimated that a task of size 274 would take a pedestrian hacker one year to complete.

   • 2014 September 26, Paul Cooper, “Shellshock Bash — What every business needs to know”, in BetaNews:

     The real problem is just how easy it is to do. It only takes about three lines of code to attack a vulnerable server, which means attacks based on the vulnerability are well within the reach of even pedestrian hackers and cybercriminals.

2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see pedestrian,‎ hacker. Someone who is mediocre at their craft.
   • 1972, The Golf Journal - Volumes 25-26, page 17:

     Well, then, how come you can play golf against Jack Nicklaus or Gary Player or Lee Trevino with some hope for beating them? The answer is, of course, you can't -- not unless you have a handicap. This is the great equalizer, the instrument that gives the most pedestrian hacker a shot at an even match.

   • 1983 November-December, Guy M. Townsend, “Mysteriously Speaking”, in The Mystery Fancier, volume 7, number 6, →ISBN:

     Since John happens to be about the best non-professional writer/editor on earth, I knew that I was taking an awful chance, but as it happened he had other commitments and had to pass up the opportunity of showing me up for the pedestrian hacker that I really am.

Usage notes

The term is often used in indications of how secure a cryptographic system is, specified as the amount of time it would take a pedestrian hacker to break the code.