Cooperating With Hackers?

Hackers are people who really enjoy taking advantage of their knowledge about computers and technology in general to cause havoc on the Internet. Many of them are intelligent people who just happen to have malicious intentions. However, what if someone could be able to persuade them to help the society, instead of trying to bring chaos to it? It seems that some companies are paying former hackers for their work and advice. For example, there was a hacker who was accused of infiltrating the security system of satellite television company, but after the incident, he was on their payroll for years. Do you think that it is a good idea, or should we rather punish hackers? I think that it all depends whether a hacker wants to cooperate or not. After all, hackers are people who have extensive knowledge about computers. It would be nice to see them help the society rather than destroying it. Personally, I would love to see more and more hackers become involved in legal activities and earn their living in a conventional, honest way. As I said, it all depends who the hackers are, and whether they will be willing to work for the good of the society or not.