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Computer Hacking

Page history last edited by Raigan Wear 15 years, 3 months ago

"Hi-tech crime is the illegal exploitation of computer technologies like the internet, whether to attack the new technology itself or in order to support so-called 'old' crimes such as fraud, identity theft and embezzlement."

---  Detective Superintendant Chris Corcoran, North Wales Police

 

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Summary

 

Computer hacking is the practice of modifying computer hardware and software to accomplish a goal outside of the creator's original purpose. Computer hacking is most common among teenagers and young adults, however, it does occur among the older population also. Many computer hackers believe that hacking is an art, they have the drive to learn more about computers and the way they work. For many of these individuals, this is a way to demonstrate their abilities, not just to harm others. [1]

 

Computer hacking most always involves some degree of infringement on the privacy of others or damage to computer based property.

 

A hacker can be defined as the following things according to David M. Stone. [3]

    1. A person who enjoys exploring the details of programmable systems and how to stretch their capabilities, as      opposed to most users, who prefer to learn only the minimum necessary.

    2. One who programs enthusiastically (even obsessively) or who enjoys programming rather than just theorizing      about programming.

    3. A person capable of appreciating hack value.

    4. A person who is good at programming quickly.

    5. An expert at a particular program, or one who frequently does work using it or on it.

    6. An expert or enthusiast of any kind. One might be an astronomy hacker, for example.

    7. One who enjoys the intellectual challenge of creatively overcoming or circumventing limitations.

    8. A malicious meddler who tries to discover sensitive information by poking around.

 

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History

 

In 1963 the first computer hacking began. At the Massachusetts Institue of Technology a student got a computer code by hacking. Kevin Mitnick was the first hacker to make the most wanted list in the United States. He broke into the North American Aerospace Defence Command computer in 1981, at the age of 17. In 1986 the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act was put into play. In 2001, hackers cost the United States about $455 million and in 2003 the total fell to about $202 million. The drop was because firms bettered their security measures. [2] Computer hacking has been used for many years both for the good and the bad.

 

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Timeline of Computer Hacking [4]

 

1960's

The first computer hackers emerge at MIT. A few of the members use their skills to mainframe computing systems that were being studied and developed on campus.

 

1970's

Phone hackers (phreaks) broke into regional and international phone networks to make free calls. One phreak, John Draper, used a toy whistle from a ceral box to generate 2600-hertz signal, which when conjuncted to a phone receiver, allowed for phreaks to make free calls.

 

1980's

Phone phreaks begin to move into the realm of computer hacking, and the first electronic bulletin board systems (BBSs) spring up. The groups would use the internet to converse between each other using code names. Two of the earliest groups were called, Legion of Doom in the USA and Chaos Computer Club in Germany. The movie War Games came out which demonstrated computer hacking. Six teenagers who were know as the 414 gang were arrested. They broke into an estimated 60 computers during a nine day spree. Among the computers one was at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, which helps develop nuclear weapons. In the wake of an increasing number of break-ins to government and corporate computers, Congress passes the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, which makes it a crime to break into computer systems, but doesn't include juveniles. In the first cyberespionage case, hackers in West Germany were arrested for breaking into U.S. government and corporate computers and selling operating-system source code to the Soviet KGB.

 

1990's

A prolonged sting investigation arrested hackers in 14 U.S. cities, conducting early-morning raids and arrests.

The arrests involved organizers and members of BBSs and were aimed at credit-card theft, telephone, and wire fraud. The first Def Con hacking conference took place in Las Vegas in 1993. The conference was meant to be a one time party to say good-bye to BBSs, but it is now an annual event. The Internet became the new broswer, Netscape Navigator, made information on the Web more accessible. However, hackers moved all there information and hacking programs from BBSs to the new hacker web sites. Serial cybertrespasser, Kevin Mitnick, was charged with stealing 20,000 credit card numbers, because of this he became the computer hacking celebrity. The hacking group Cult of the Dead Cow released the Trojan Horse program. Once a hacker installed the Trojan Horse on a computer running Windows 95 or Windows 98, the program allowed unauthorized remote access of the machine. In the wake of Microsoft's Windows 98 release, 1999 became a banner year for security. Hundreds of advisories and patches were released in response to bugs in Windows and other commercial software products. A host of security software vendors release anti-hacking products for use on home computers.

 

2000's

Hackers launched attacks against eBay, Yahoo!, CNN.com., Amazon and others. Activists in Pakistan and the Middle East defaced Web sites belonging to the Indian and Israeli governments to protest oppression in Kashmir and Palestine. Hackers broke into Microsoft's corporate network and access source code for the latest versions of Windows and Office. Microsoft became the prominent victim of hacks that attacked the domain name server.

 

Hacking is still a large problem today. Identity thefts seem to be the most heard about type of hacks. This is a crime that needs to be stopped but will not be able to be stopped easily.

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Usage:

 

Computer hacking is used in some corporations to find flaws in security systems. This type of computer hacking is to help prevent identity theft and other related crimes. Computer hacking can be done to steal personal information, change a corporation's financial data, break security codes, or to conduct other destructive activities. This activity will get a person time in prison. [1] Computer hacking is a big concern starting in children. In many cases, computer hacking evolves from something as simple as trying to figure out a friends password. This then can lead to an addiction of an adrenaline rush, which causes the want for more. If this is not stopped by someone of authority it can continue on to adulthood and become more serious. This is a prime example of an activity that is started trying to have fun and turn into something far more serious and illegal.

 

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References

 

[1] "What is Computer Hacking?" November 23, 2008. 20:30 UTC. <http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-computer-hacking.htm>

 

[2] "Cybercrime."Britannica Online Encyclopedia. November 23, 2008. 20:18 UTC. Encyclopedia Britannica. <http://chadwick.iwc.edu:2069/eb/article-235707>

 

[3] "Computer Hacking." David M. Stone. University Laboratory High School. December 15, 2008. 13:05 UTC. <http://www.ed.uiuc.edu/wp/crime/hacking.htm>

 

[4] "Timeline: A 40-year history of hacking." By PCWorld.com Staff. December 15, 2008. 15:02 UTC. <http://archives.cnn.com/2001/TECH/internet/11/19/hack.history.idg/index.html>

 

 

 

 

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