According to newspaper coverage and stock photo libraries (see above), hackers are shadowy, often hooded, are probably sat in the dark for some reason and are almost always in weirdly close proximity to one of those weird green Matrix computers that nobody actually owns. They’re not often depicted as kind-hearted good samaritans.

But if this billboard hack at the Liverpool One shopping centre is anything to go by, maybe they should.

Rather than spamming passersby with something obscene, weird or offensive, this hacker decided to take the high road with the message “we suggest you improve your security. sincerely, your friendly neighbourhood hackers #jft96.”

And it starts to look even more polite when you compare it to slightly less *cough* respectful hacks.

A few weeks ago, Washington DC’s Union Station was subject to a similar hack – except the perpetrator decided to use their powers for evil rather than good by projecting a bunch of porn onto a touchscreen information screen.

The screen, which is meant to display “announcements, business directories, and ads” was actually used to display a PornHub video. (You can watch footage of that hack here if you’re into that kinda thing.)