> In fact, I believe I have never before heard someone combine the meaning of the word to be related to the ownership of the device being hacked.
Ownership implies authorization, and using the term "hacking" exclusively to refer to gaining unauthorized access to someone else's computer is a common usage that you must surely have encountered before.
So, this website being called "Hacker news", means.. ?
While hacking is used to to refer to illicit activities, I do actually believe that the same activities can also be performed e.g. on your own devices, or with permission, and still be called hacking. So in my view, I do not believe legality is the defining term, but the actual things you do; oftentimes useful for illegal activities.
But I must assume there is a group of people who consider the term to be loaded with that exclusion, so I should take this into account.
However, to me "hacking your own devices" as a concept seems crystal clear, and is not a contradictory term.
Ownership implies authorization, and using the term "hacking" exclusively to refer to gaining unauthorized access to someone else's computer is a common usage that you must surely have encountered before.