Hackers Essay, Research Paper

“…they are still hardly criminal in nature. The intention of most of these individuals is not to destroy or exploit systems but to learn in minute detail how they are used and what they are used for. The quest is purely intellectual, but the drive to learn is so overwhelming that any obstacle blocking its course will be circumvented. Unfortunately the obstacles are usually state and federal laws on unauthorized computer access…” This is a quote from Chris Goggans who was once a member of the hacker Legion of Doom club. On-line he was known as “Erik Bloodaxe”.1 The term “hacker” was first used in the nineteen sixties to describe college students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The students were given this title because of their obsession with computers. They couldn’t get enough of computers. “Hacker” was a label of pride to these students. These first hackers did things such as probe systems to find out how they worked and how to make it give out secrets just as hackers do today. They believed computer time and software should be free and freely shared and resented those who protected ownership. A surprising aspect of hackers is that they actually had rules of their own of what they could do to others files and what they could not do. These rules said no one was to erase, damage, or change anyone’s files. One last rule that they had was no using any one system for personal gain. Surprisingly, most of the hackers followed these guidelines.. Now over the years, “hacker” is a label stating competence and knowledge to meaning someone who breaks into computers. With this information we now have the knowledge that hackers are older and do not have ethics and morals as they used to. The old rules have been forgotten and the FBI has made it’s own definition of a typical hacker: 1. Eighteen to thirty-five years old. 2. Usually male. 3. Bright and highly motivated. 4. The first workers on the job in the morning. 5. The most trusted employees on the job. There is an operation known as “salami slicing”. This is a form of data diddling that occurs when an employee steals small amounts from a large number of sources through the electronic changing of data. Just like slicing thin pieces from a roll of salami. Some hackers fall upon their information on accident. One instance of this is with John Draper, a.k.a. “Cap’n Crunch”. Draper earned his alias when he discovered that the whistle that came in Cap’n Crunch™ cereal was a perfect match for the 2600-hertz tone used by the telephone company’s switching system. He found that the whistle’s matching tone could be used to trick the system into granting free access to long-distance lines. When do you know if hacking is a computer crime? Well, it is known if the instance falls into one of the following categories: 1. Unauthorized access gained to satisfy a personal motive like curiosity, pried, or a sense of adventure. 2. Unauthorized access to tamper with or to destroy information or operations, including initiating the spread of viruses. 3. Unauthorized access to steal data or computer services or to perform acts for criminal purposes, such as credit card theft. “Although it may not seem like it, I am pretty much a normal American teenager. I don’t drink, smoke, or take drugs. I don’t steal, assault people, or vandalize property. The only way I am really different from most people is my fascination with the ways and means of learning about computers that don’t belong to me.” This is a quote from a hacker who began hacking at the age of fourteen. This hacker is Bill Landreth, known on-line as “The Cracker.”2 There are many laws protecting computers. All of the states in the United States of America except for Vermont, have laws protecting computers and their owners. The laws started in the states when Arizona first passed their law to protect computer crime. Crimes that are not covered by existing state laws are covered by the 1986 Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. Violation of this law is a felony and is punishable by death or at the least one year in prison. Besides the ones mentioned above, there are many more laws protecting computers. People in general that own computers in the United States do not need to be as worried as business corporations do about hackers. Only about `00 hackers worry about corporate security and law enforcement. The most threatening hackers to computer security are employees who commit computer-related fraud, while working with in the security are employees who commit computer-related fraud, while working with in the affected companies themselves, acts of vengeance by former employees with grievances, industrial espionage and loss of trade secrets, use and misuse of electronic fund transfers, computer errors and the corruption of data, and computerized invasion of personal privacy. One thousand organizations said they had losses attributed to computer crime in 1985 estimated between $145,000,000 to $750,000,000. Criminals in work places alone might cost businesses up to $3,000,000,000 a year. This shows why businesses need to worry and go to extreme measures to protect their computer systems and files. Hackers can cause us many problems in our jobs and just in everyday life if we get in the way of them. Perhaps one day they can use their knowledge for good and be able to work with computers without causing fear to others. People should consider more on how great a hacker’s intelligence is and maybe consider their point of view before judging them so harshly and negatively. Endnotes 1 Chris Goggans, “Hackers Aren’t the Real Enemy,” Computerworld, June 8, 1992, p. 37. 2 Karen Judson, Computer Crime: Phreaks, Spies, and Salami Slicers, (The Stock Market/Micheal Newler, 1991), p. 40.