It's been brewing for quite some time. According to McAfee, a team of Chinese hackers has been infiltrating computer . Last week the Wall Street Journal reported that (though not the Nasdaq market --- as far as we know). And the ongoing battle between Anonymous and the folks who are aiming to take it down is just heating up.

[ Also on InfoWorld, Cringely looks at the AOL-Huffington Post buyout and warns: . | For a humorous take on the tech industry's shenanigans, subscribe to . ]

Before you fire up your email program or leap immediately to the comments to correct me: Yes, I know -- "hacker" isn't the right word for this kind of activity. Hackers are not necessarily criminals or even evil-doers. There are white-hat, black-hat, gray-hat, and the occasional houndstooth-hatted hackers.

The appropriate word for people who attack computer systems for their own nefarious criminal purposes is "cracker." But to most people, a cracker is either something you spread cheese on or someone you try to avoid at cocktail parties. These days everybody understands "hacker" --- at least, the Hollywood version. Sorry, but that's just the way it is.

And when hackers get tired of eating Doritos for dinner and have actual bills to pay, they grow up to be highly paid security consultants who are hired to do battle with their younger doppelgangers.