A Snapshot of Computer Hacking Computer hacking has been around for over fifty years. Anytime new technology comes to the fore front, there are individuals who want to expand upon it. Hacking in general terms, is simply taking a technology and trying to improve upon it without the permission of the owner. I want to point out two terms that I will use throughout the paper, hacker and cracker. A hacker is a person who has extensive computer knowledge and enjoys tackling technical issues. The goal of hackers is not to cause damage to the computer system or network while infiltrating it. They are there to try and learn and improve upon the program. A hacker believes that information should be free, so they commonly share how they went about doing the infiltrating. A cracker is a person who uses his knowledge for personal gain against the law. EX: stealing account numbers, distributing viruses etc. It is safe to safe to say that all crackers are hackers, but not all hackers are crackers. This is an important distinction. Most people don’t realize the difference, largely impart by unawareness and the media. According to Tellis (2000) “The basic difference between hackers and crackers is: Hackers build things, crackers break things”. Many times, companies will employ the hackers who break into their systems. Taking them from what may lead to a lifetime of crime, and changing them into ethical hackers. Ethical hackers also know as White Hats, are professionals that write codes to check the integrity of programs on behalf of the owners. The first computer hackers surfaced from MIT. (Focus Editors). The term hacking was borrowed from members of a model train club, who reconfigured the switches and r... ... middle of paper ... ... J (2006). A Short History of Hacking. Retrieved from http://www.neatorama.com/2006/08/28/a-short-history-of-hacking/ Unknown author (n.d.). Hacking History. Retrieved from http://www.campusactivism.org/html-resource/hackers/section4.html Perrin, C (August 16, 2010). Hackers and crackers: a lesson in etymology and clear communication. Retrieved from http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/security/?p=4237 Taber, M (n.d.). Maximum Security: A Hacker's Guide to Protecting Your Internet Site and Network (chapter 3.) Retrieved from http://newdata.box.sk/bx/hacker/ch03/ch03.htm Tellis, P. S. (Nov. 6 2000). Hackers are Not Crackers. Retrieved from http://db.glug-bom.org/lug-authors/philip/docs/hackers-not-crackers.html Unknown author (n.d.). Ethical Hacker. Retrieved from http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid14_gci921117,00.html
Hacking has two primary definitions; the first refers to the enthusiastic and skilful use of computers to solve problems (Techterms, 2013); the second, to “gain unauthorized access to data in a system or computer” (Oxford Dictionaries, 2013). In the context of this essay the second definition is more appropriate and will be the meaning inferred throughout. This definition also more closely aligns with legal terminology used in the UK when describing the hacking of computers. The Computer Misuse Act (1990) introduced three criminal offenses:
Over the days, hacking is becoming unstoppable. The effect of hacking a computer is numerous, some are trivial while others have caused serious damage. For this terrible situation to stop and because computer science is my passion, so I am doing this research paper. Hopefully, through the essay, readers will be provided with knowledge covering the influence of computer hacking and the way society tried to minimize those effects. 2.
The documentary Rise of the Hackers, focuses on the rising criminal use of hacking and how it is effecting multiple areas of technology. The documentary describes simple and complicated situations concerning hacking, but there still questions that must be answered when it comes to hacking and crime. The main question is in trying to determine why a person would choose to commit computer hacking. There are various theories already present within the criminal justice system that may explain at a micro-level and macro-level. These theories would explain why offenders would commit the crimes, but it may not answer the full scope of the question. The Routine Activities Theory would help to explain why offenders offend, why victims are victimized,
ZHENGCHUAN, XU, HU QING, and ZHANG CHENGHONG. "Why Computer Talents Become Computer Hackers." Communications Of The ACM 56.4 (2013): 64-74. Academic Search Premier. Web. 28 Apr. 2014.
...difficult to try and tell someone that ethics and moral are important for an individual or our society. Hacktivism being a recent adaptation of computer hacking has spread through out the world consistently from years ago. Some are political activists trying to make a point and achieve some goals and getting through tot the people. Hacktivist show society what the new problems are in the world without permission of the law. Some show what could happen if there was a full on cyber terrorism placed against us. In the end, these actions that were used to only show what could happen have turned into being a message that shows us they are just as dangerous as anyone else. The fear people have of hackers is about the same as criminals on the street.
communication, transportation, and even our professional work environments, it is almost impossible to avoid something that is operated by a circuit board. Especially with the developments of Wi-Fi enabled devices, we are even more connected to the internet and each other. As society develops technologically, governments, corporations, and individuals, can become prone to acts of hacking. Hacking can take different names depending on the intent of the act. Hacktivism can be defined as: “the act of hacking, or breaking into a computer system, for a politically or socially motivated purpose.” (Margaret Rouse, searchsecurity.techtarget.com) One of the most famous examples of a hacktivism or hacktivist
Deutsch, W. (n.d.). A Definition of the Security Term White Hat Hacker. About. Retrieved from http://bizsecurity.about.com/od/glossary/g/A-Definition-Of-The-Security-Term-Em-White-Hat-Hacker-Em.htm
Hacking has been around since the birth of computers. When the term hacking was first used, its meaning was not that of how we think of it today. At the origins of computing, a hacker was considered to be just a "creative programmer (Baase, 2003)." Early forms of computer games as well as the beginnings of operating systems were discovered and created by these original hackers. These hackers plunged into systems as a way of an intellectual challenge and to aspire to gain knowledge (Baase, 2003). Kevin Mitnick believes he falls into this realm of hackers. Hackers in today's era are now looked upon as criminals who invade the privacy rights of individuals and have the ability to deliver worms/viruses. The differences are that hackers today have full intentions of delivering terrible viruses and worms. Mitnick was one of the most infamous hackers during the 1980's. He molded his hacking style around the stupidity of humans and his quest for intellectual knowledge. The ways in which he wiggled his way into computer systems extenuates many of the issues surrounding computer security and privacy.
In Computer security terminology Hacker is a person or group of persons, who exploit, modify and identify weakness in a computer system or network. Hacker may be motivates of reasons such as profit, protest and challenge. based on attitude, belief, and goals hacker groups are categories such as
The issue with tackling the ethical hacker scenario is that the event is almost entirely action based. There is no end to give meaning to the action and there is no finalized result or indication that it impacted happiness, which many ethical theories depend on. Namely consequentialism, utilitarianism and ethical egotism require an end result in one form or another. There is also no purpose in committing the hackings which makes applying moral theories that deal with motivation and intent, ethical egotism and aspects of virtue ethics, increasingly more difficult to do effectively. Therefore moral theories that apply almost exclusively to the action itself will be utilized in this argument.
It is held by many people today that the World seems to be a small global village because of internet and use of ICT and computers. There are many different issues and cases in Information and Communication Technology as well as in other fields that need proper analysis leading to correct decisions for solutions. Because of the brevity of the assignment, I would like to talk about security in cyberspace to deal with hacktivism and hacker ethics. Security in cyberspace or computer laboratory nowadays is risen an issue that needs solutions among computer users who always like to interact with computers. As these users come to this type of environment, they bring with them different actions or behaviors that are different from one user to another. Ethics in such environment seeks to have correct answers to issues related to computer security. Thus, in this essay, the term hacker, hacker ethics and hacktivism are dealt with accordingly. What then is computer security? The following paragraph deals with this question.
The Art of exploring various security breaches is termed as Hacking.Computer Hackers have been around for so many years. Since the Internet became widely used in the World, We have started to hear more and more about hacking. Only a few Hackers, such as Kevin Mitnick, are well known.In a world of Black and White, it’s easy to describe the typical Hacker. A general outline of a typical Hacker is an Antisocial, Pimple-faced Teenage boy. But the Digital world has many types of Hackers.Hackers are human like the rest of us and are, therefore, unique individuals, so an exact profile is hard to outline.The best broad description of Hackers is that all Hackers aren’t equal. Each Hacker has Motives, Methods and Skills. But some general characteristics can help you understand them. Not all Hackers are Antisocial, PimplefacedTeenagers. Regardless, Hackers are curious about Knowing new things, Brave to take steps and they areoften very Sharp Minded..
Hackers have existed since the launch of the internet itself. Hackers, who pride themselves on demolishing data and changing a computer’s structure, use digital armaments to take advantage of the naiveté of the internet. Although hackers use a variety of me...
Software hackers recognize these kindred spirits elsewhere and may call them "hackers" too -- and some claim that the hacker nature is really independent of the particular medium the hacker works in. But in the rest of this document we will focus on the skills and attitudes of software hackers, and the traditions of the shared culture that originated the term `hacker'. There is another group of people who loudly call themselves hackers, but aren't. These are people (mainly adolescent males) who get a kick out of breaking into computers and phreaking the phone system. Real hackers call these people `crackers' and want nothing to do with them.
Harvey, Brian. A. Computer Hacking and Ethics. Ed. Paul Goodman, P.G., a.k.a. Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.