So... while working on an issue for an employee who is trying to access the corporate network remotely from a hotel out of state, a co-worker mentioned that while he was on vacation recently, he noticed that they were using a very old and somewhat insecure DSL router.

He tried -- and succeeded -- in logging into the router as the router admin, using the factory default password, which he happened to know.

He then updated their security level and made some other minor "improvements" for performance & security reasons.

He never got around to telling them what he'd done.

So I said to him, "So you hacked their router?"

He says "No! I didn't hack it, I just accessed it!"

Obviously we disagree on this point, so let me ask you...

I say that even though he did it with the best of intentions, he did access the router and make changes without prior authorization or permission. Therefore, he hacked the router.

Am I correct? Yes or no?

...and no, I don't know where this alleged router is, and no, I'm not telling on him... I'm not a Gym Teacher, after all...