A group of students was asked to participate in a study on computer ethics. The students were exposed to a series of case-studies involving computer hacking, which were intended to illustrate both ethical and malicious hacks. Researchers found that engineering students consistently found no fault in the actions of ethical hacking. However, students in other fields frequently held that all hackers were unethical, regardless of details in the case. This shows that the general populace rejects the idea that a well-intentioned hacker can be ethical.