The Internet: Heaven Or Hell? Essay, Research Paper

The Internet: Heaven or Hell?

While in a discussion session in my English 101 class, the professor read aloud to the class an article in a magazine about the security breeches on the Internet. The article talked about how nearly every two out of three people that “hack” (a term on the Internet and computer world meaning breaking into another person s computer) into the government s computers succeed. Three out of four that do succeed are never caught. This is a major security breach. The article claims that hackers can easily access extremely important information or data. This does not only happen on the government s computers but businesses, corporations, non-profit organizations, and more. Only computers running certain software, which allows users on the internet access to their information, are susceptible to hackers. A majority of hackers do not affect anything important; although, only the most knowledgeable and experienced hackers can affect anything important, if they do manage to access and change information, it is normally quickly remedied.

People hack for various reasons on the Internet. A majority of hackers break into secure places just to be able to say, “I broke in there.” This is a bragging right among the hackers world. The tighter the security on the site, the more they are able to brag about being able to break into it. The Pentagon is a favorite place of hackers. Hackers figured that this would be like the Fort Knox is to thieves. The Pentagon is one of the most insecure places on the Internet. Every two out of three people that try to break in, accomplishes the small feat; although, they never get to any of the important information. The computers at the Pentagon that hold secure, important data are not even connected to the outside world in any way. This includes modems (which run over phone lines) and any network such as the Internet. The only way for a hacker to break into the Pentagon s top secret files would be for them to physically be standing at a terminal in the Pentagon. These terminals are kept under twenty-four hour surveillance by guards and require special codes to gain access. So the hackers do not gain any important information.

Hacking into a site such as a bank where you can make thousands or millions of dollars is the supreme goal for most hackers on the Internet. Usually only the hackers with enough experience and knowledge attempt this. People can easily be caught at this if they leave signs of their “breaking and entering” in the bank s computer(s). If they are caught, they can be prosecuted be the bank and the federal government and spend many years in jail for this serious offense. Hacking into a bank almost equals the penalty for murdering someone. This is why only the premier hackers will attempt this.

A normal person on the Internet is not affected by hackers. If a person does not run any programs that would allow others to access information on their computers, than they do not have to worry about their data being compromised on the Internet. The people that run the computer systems at corporations connected to the Internet usually make back-ups of all their files at least once a day. This back-up copies all changeable data from the computer to a removable storage device such as a tape back-up drive. If a hacker changed something on a company’s computers, the systems administrator would be able to restore the information from the back-up the computer automatically created earlier. Software companies have made extensive research into security issues on networks, the Internet being one colossal network. These companies specialize in security software for Internet servers. They hire hackers to program and test their software.

The vast majority of hackers that actually break into a site never change anything important. Articles discussing the insecurities of the Internet should not deter people from joining the Internet. People that want to join the Internet for discussions, friends, files, or anything else available; should not fear hackers for they are unable to cause any damage or corruption on a normal user’s computer. The Internet can be an almost Utopia for people seeking advice, information, friends, or adventure; although, it can lead to many frustrations on the part of systems administrators that have to constantly deal with hackers.