Computer Net Crime Essay, Research Paper

Computer crimes are terrorism of the present day. Everything from Website attacks, viruses, and cyber sex. People have even been charged for rape over the internet. Government computers have been an easy target for hackers for decades. According to Defense Information Systems Agency s data, the military may have experienced about 250,000 attacks in 1995 with 2/3 s of the intrusions being successful. Typically fewer than one percent of the attacks were detected.

During the Gulf War in 1991 an 18 year old Israeli was facing charges of breaking into Pentagon computers. He apparently accessed information on the top secret Patriot missile being deployed against Iraq. Another incident involving teenagers took place during the same war. The group broke into U.S. army, navy and air force systems and gathered information on missile targeting and development of weapon systems. They were trying to gather secret information on nuclear weapons and were offering it all to the Iraqi s.

In October of 1997, over 125,000 people were without power in the San Francisco area because what might have been sabotage. If hackers break into the computers of power companies, emergency services, telecommunications, water systems, banks or any vital industries with bad intentions, entire cities can be thrown into chaos. The U.S. government has formed the Infrastructure Protection Task Force to investigate all electronic terrorist attacks on vital industries and services.

Hackers want to cultivate an online reputation. If most hacker s bragging has a kernel of truth, then cyber espionage and cyber terrorism is a frightening and real threat. The first documented computer virus was Brain , developed by two young Pakistani men in 1987. It was probably the first international computer virus although not designed to be damaging. One month later at the University of Pennsylvania, another virus surfaced and it was intentionally destructive.