Hacking

Hacking

A general perception regarding hackers is that they always attempt to disturb privacy of other individuals and that they intend to cheat other people . However , this may not be always true , because there is difference between crackers and hackers . Hackers can help the organizations to prevent hacking of their computers . Therefore , many organizations have recruited the hackers in to improve the security of their organization 's computer network . However , there are a few hackers who have misused their hacking skills in to obtain important documents or records from individuals and

organizations

Even before the introduction of computers , a few teenagers had hacked phone systems , which enraged the authorities who punished these hackers During the initial years of computer invention and development , hackers were appointed in the MIT artificial intelligence lab in to improve the security network of computers . During 1960s , hackers were considered as people who participated in positive activities . It was thought that hackers possessed advanced skills in computers , which were used while developing computer programs . During 1970s , hackers began to involve in unlawful activities such as breaking phone code by using particular devices to create whistling sound , which opened phone lines There was emergence of Yippie social movement , which published a magazine to support phone hackers . A few members of California Computer Club invented devices which could be used to hack phone system . However it is interesting to note that two members of this club , Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak , later established their company , which sold Apple computer . This shows that all hackers did not intend to harm other members in the society . They improved the security of computers in their organizations (Trigaux 2000

During the early years of 1980 decades , FBI arrested several people for hacking computers . For example , the members of Milwaukee-based 441s were arrested for illegally obtaining information from the computers belonging to reputed institutions . In the United States , during this period , Legion of Doom was established in to assist the members in hacking computers . During 1980s , considered as the golden age of hacking , hackers were very active , although the law enforcing authority was able to capture a few hackers , leading to the demand for reforms in the existing criminal codes , which had given exception to certain crimes that involved simply breaking the computer system . An important hacker of during this period was Pat who was arrested by the Police for breaking into several computer systems , thereby destroying the security of the computers belonging to defense personnel . New reforms were introduced in the criminal code of Canada and the legislations in the USA in to prevent the activities of the hackers , which had resulted in the loss of valuable data of the government authorities (Trigaux 2000 ) Not satisfied with simply breaking into computers , many hackers began to obtain the ability to indulge in criminal pursuits such as producing and selling pirated games and CDs as it was thought that younger generation had showed interest in buying these products . However , it was during this phase that many hackers decided to differentiate and alienate themselves from the people called crackers although this differentiation was not significantly noted in the media . 1980s was also the period of viruses and Trojans , an important method of entering and disturbing other 's computers , thereby creating a crisis like situation . In 1987 , there was a virus attack on the computers located at the University of Delaware . Since late 1980s viruses have become the major weapon of hackers , leading to the emergence of several anti-virus companies , which have been able to earn millions of dollars due to the demand for their products . This has resulted in the hatred for hackers who were blamed for destroying many computer systems belonging to government organizations (Trigaux 2000

The government also decided to take action against these hackers association by implementing Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and other measures , which restricted the activities of hackers . In the early 1990s , due to the activities of hackers , AT T long-distance service crashed , which pressured the police officials to initiate nation-wide attack on hackers groups . This effort resulted in the arrest of the hacker 's leader Kevin Lee Poulsen . After this arrest , hackers have attacked computer networks of many reputed institutions in to pressure the government to release their leader . In 1995 , Defence department computers were attacked 250000 times by the hackers (Trigaux 2000

During 1990 decade , hackers also attacked Microsoft programs , thereby showing the weak security of Microsoft software . These different events show that hackers have been successful in creating problems to the government and private organizations , which pressured the Justice Department to establish National Infrastructure Protection Center Hackers associations also threatened that they can shut down Internet within 30 minutes . They have urged the authorities to improve Internet security (Trigaux 2000

The above presentation of history of hackers shows that they have been able to hack computers of many organizations , which has threatened security of these computers . However , hacking has also compelled the government and other authorities to take appropriate action in to improve security of their computer network . Some hackers also claimed that their main aim was to improve the computer security , by showing weaknesses in the computer networks of major companies

Recently , computers and Internet have become popular due to their advantages such as ecommerce tools , e-mail , access to huge amount of reference resources , and e-governance . However , government institutions are concerned with the activities of the people who hack the computers of these organizations , thereby leading to the loss of valuable financial and other resources of these institutions . This has resulted in the emergence of a new concept called ethical hacking , which refers to appointment of internal hacker by the organization in to find out the security lapses in the computers of the organization . The ethical hacker will behave in the same way as the professional hacker however ethical hacker will not destroy the whole computer system , while professional hackers can destroy the computer systems by breaking their security network . By appointing ethical hackers , the institutions can improve the security of their computer network . For example , the United States Air Force conducted such ethical hacking experiments which showed security lapses in their computers . The scholars - Farmer and Venema have been giving advice to the companies concerning the methods of preventing hacking of their computers (Palmer 2001

These scholars developed an application called Security Analysis Tool for Auditing Networks (SATAN , which could be used by the organizations to obtain warning regarding their vulnerable aspects of computer security . This program obtained attention of various government and private organizations , which have been benefited by the advice given by Farmer and Venema . An ethical hacker needs to possess various qualifications . He needs to be loyal to his organization as he possesses critical information of the company , and if he is not trustworthy he may use this information to commit computer crimes . However , usually , before appointing such hackers , the organizations also scrutinize their background . Ethical hackers are expected to possess sufficient knowledge in computer network and security . They obtain this knowledge after several years of experience in hacking . They also need to possess advanced knowledge in using popular operating systems such as Windows and UNIX . Many hackers have been targeting Windows to exhibit their ability to hack computers . Ethical hackers need to possess enough patience and ability to do hard work in to achieve their goals However , these qualities may be found among both ethical and criminal hackers . This shows that it is not easy to handle the problem of criminal hacking . However , by appointing ethical hackers , organizations have succeeded in reducing the probability of hacking of their computers (Palmer 2001

Scholars have found it difficult to precisely define computer hacking This is because effect of computer hacking depends on the nature and motive of the crime committed by the hackers . In some cases , the victims may feel annoyed , while in some other cases the victims of hacking may be forced to approach law enforcing authority in to punish the hacking groups or individuals (Stone 1999

The people , who are experts in hacking , belong to different social backgrounds and possess various aims . Some hackers may be interested in enjoying hacking . They perhaps want to obtain fun by creating trouble for others . However , there are some serious computer hackers whose activities may attract strict legal action as their activities may lead to loss of millions of dollars to the companies that are victimized by the hackers . In some other cases , hackers have claimed that they have been indulging in hacking in to register their protest against a few political developments . For example , some hackers have claimed that they have been opposing human rights violation in China , and therefore they claimed to have discovered a program which allows the Chinese to access websites that are banned by the Chinese government (McKay 1998 In China and different parts of the world , hackers have participated in the activity called `hacktivism , which refers to the various political activities of the hackers . Hackers have disabled firewalls that were created to prevent Chinese internet users from accessing some information , which was considered as sensitive by the government authorities . The hackers have claimed that they have developed an email plug-in , which can help the Chinese Internet users to surf the web without being monitored by the government authorities as it is not easy to supervise the Internet activity of each and every individual in China . The hackers have been protesting against the arrest of Lin Hai for sending emails to the USA . The hackers are demanding the release of Hai as they consider that this action of Hai did not deserve imprisonment . The hacktivists have decided to use information warfare method in to challenge the decision of the government to restrict the freedom of speech of the Chinese . This shows that apart from indulging in criminal activities , the hackers have also participated in political activism , leading to confrontation with the governments belonging to different parts of the world . The famous hackers group , the cult of dead cow has already claimed that it is devising strategies in to pressure the Chinese government to introduce measures that would protect the freedom of speech of the Chinese people . The hackers have showed their intent to attack the government websites in to register their protest against the attitude of the Chinese government pertaining to various civil rights of the citizens of China . The Chinese authorities have , however , claimed that they would not take this attack on their websites lightly as the hackers have been violating the US law and they may not hesitate to violate the cyber criminal laws framed by China (McKay 1998

The above details show that many hackers have been participating in hacktivism , which has changed the public perception regarding the hackers , particularly those who have an ideology . The cult of dead cow which believes in hacktivism , has used the member 's talents to develop and use technology to protect the human rights of the individuals in the world society . This has resulted in the emergence of human rights hacktivists who have called for better communication between the hacker groups in to counterattack the government measures to suppress the rights and liberties of individuals . Hacktivism is the combination of the hacker mindset , which believes in exploring the possibilities of communication , and the need to protect the political rights of the people by using the new technology available to the hackers . The Citizen Lab is a hacktivist organization , which is based in the academic world This organization has used the new technology in to achieve the objectives of the members of this organization who are expert in breaking the codes of the websites , thereby trying to enable their use by the public so that the rights of each and every individual is protected . The hacker associations claim that their freedom of expression of their opinion is guaranteed by the Article 19 of the U .N Universal Declaration of Human Rights , which assures that each and every individual has the right to hold a particular opinion without any interference from the authorities of the state (Delio 2004 ) However this human rights declaration can become effective in a state only if the state legislature introduces a legislation that accepts the spirit of the UN human rights declaration . However , the states have followed their own policies in to protect the security of their nation which is considered as more important than protecting the right to freedom of expression (Delio 2004

Although , the US constitution assures this right to the individuals the state authorities have attempted to prevent the abuse of this rule by the intelligent criminals who are aware of the methods of violating the provisions of the constitution by using the loopholes in the constitution . However , activism of hackers has been supported by many mainstream human right organizations such as the Soros Foundation Markle Foundation , and Ford Foundation . These foundations have encouraged the use of technology to protect the civil rights by giving funds to the organizations such as Privaterra , eRiders , and Indymedia (Delio 2004

The hacking associations have decided to oppose the attempt of the western companies to invest in China . The main reason for this opposition is the fact that Chinese government has suppressed the human rights of the Chinese who are not allowed to access some websites , which has resulted in the justification of the hacking activities of the Chinese websites . One hacker group has claimed that it has succeeded in disabling a Chinese satellite . This group is interested in forming a global hacking association in to achieve the aims of assuring human rights for all the people of the world . Blondie Wong , the member of a hacking group , claimed that hacking groups have been established in the US , Canada , and Europe to oppose human right violation in China This new group known as Yellow Pages plans to attack the foreign companies that invest in China . It has been planned by this group to attack the computer network of these companies so that they would rethink regarding the future of their investment in China (Hasseldahl 1998

The hackers are not concerned with the financial losses that the international companies investing in China may suffer as the main aim of this hacking group is to prevent human right violation in China . Wong had experienced the violation of human rights in China when he and his friends were punished for demanding more rights in the Chinese society These hackers have established their association called Hong Kong Blondes , which has established its branches in different parts of the world including China . This association has succeeded in increasing its membership . With the inclusion of Chinese government employees , the association has been able to obtain critical information required to hack government owned websites . This has resulted in the attack on computer network of the companies such as Yahoo , Sun Microsystems Motorola , and Excite , which have invested in China . The hackers claim that they have the capacity to hack the web sites owned by the Chinese government and the companies that have invested in China (Hasseldahl 1998

Although there is reference to hackers with different intentions , it is difficult to differentiate between hackers with good intentions and computer criminals . Hacking involves learning advanced skills in computer programming . Hackers are the people who are not satisfied with their minimum knowledge . They show interest in quickly learning and making programs . Hacker may be a person who likes the challenge of solving highly complex problems . Hackers believe that one can indulge in hacking as long as they do not commit criminal acts leading to the loss of financing resources of companies and individuals . Many hackers believe that it is their duty to share information with other people and therefore they obtain valuable information from other computers and send them to different people and organizations (Stone 1999

There are different perceptions regarding hacking . Teenagers , who may not commit theft by pick pocketing or stealing items , may take pride in obtaining computer passwords and stealing credit card information in to exploit other people . Those teenagers who possess less knowledge regarding hacking may look upon hackers with great respect Some hackers are known to have destroyed other computer programs by writing computer viruses and Trojan horses , which have negatively affected the victims . These events have resulted in the demand for appropriate action against hackers . In to reduce hacking by the students , the teachers and parents need to obtain information regarding hacking programs and other necessary knowledge needed to restrict hacking activities of teenagers . Modern technology should be used by the organizations in to control the activities of the people who tend to destroy critical information stored in the computers (Stone 1999

It is found that many teenagers and young adults have taken interest in hacking the computers , thereby acquiring the art of obtaining information from other 's computers . Hacking art can be used both for positive and negative purposes . Many hackers have established their own groups , attended conferences , and even invented computer systems such as UNIX operating system . They have created programs , which have helped large numbers of people to protect their computer security . Many hackers , however , have used this art for negative purposes such as obtaining information from other computers in to accomplish financial merit although some of these criminals have been arrested by the law enforcing authorities . It is important to provide information to the teenagers in the schools regarding the various aspects connected with hacking and cracking . By educating the students , it is possible to provide legal and technical information concerning the need to protect their computer data in to enable them to prevent the harmful intention of the hackers . The students should be informed in the schools that their indulgence in hacking can attract legal actions against them even leading to their imprisonment and punishment under the laws of the state . The students should be informed concerning the ethical principles that they are required to follow while using their computer (Kastor 2002

The computer users need to use ethical principles such as : not to harm computer of others , not to interfere with other people 's computer work not to use pirated software , not to use computer to perform criminal activities , not using other 's computers without their permission , and to be aware of social consequences of writing a particular program . By following these principles , it is possible to maintain cordial relationship among the computer users . However , there are many computer users who have been misusing their computer knowledge in to create problem to others in the society (Kastor 2002 ) There is a need to punish such people so that they would be discouraged from indulging in such criminal and unethical activities . An important method of fighting negative hacking is to protect the personal data of the computer by installing software that protects the personal information so that the hackers are not able to obtain critical information stored in the computers . It is important to install software updates periodically in to benefit from the latest technological developments that are found in the field of computers . The main aim of hackers is to explore computer systems and test their knowledge concerning computers . However hackers differentiate themselves from crackers as the main aim of the latter is to indulge in unethical computer practices , which are criticized by the hackers . While hackers have their own associations where they discuss the methods and implications of hacking , the crackers have their secret organizations , which are used to find the methods of indulging in criminal activities so that they would be able to obtain huge financial resources . Hackers take pleasure in obtaining new information regarding the operation of computers and they are considered as computer enthusiasts . By stretching this definition , one can suggest that hacking could be found in every field of knowledge as the knowledge seekers always try to expand their knowledge concerning their own field (Kastor 2002

The perception regarding hacking has been influenced by the media . In media , hacking has been defined as the activity of the people who could break security of computers . However , according to expert hackers hacking is also associated with cleverness and playfulness . Hackers take pleasure in activities such as playing games , practical jokes , and successfully breaking rules of the organization . It was in MIT that hacking skills were developed by the computer experts . Computer experts took pleasure in accomplishing their tasks without following established rules of the MIT . The hackers in this institution were given the best opportunity to introduce changes in the computer security so that it is possible to make computer network more secure . In the MIT , the hackers tried to do computation with only 5 instructions , when other methods required 6 instructions . This shows that apart from breaking the security of computers , hackers also played an important role in developing new computer programs and software . It is not correct to suggest that hacking activity resulted in only negative consequences Hackers in the institutions such as MIT and other universities of the world have contributed to the advancement of knowledge concerning computers and Internet (Stallman 2002

Hacking involves various activities performed by the experts in computer technology . One group of hackers have contributed to the protection of computer security , while another group of hackers have abused their hacking knowledge in to amass wealth though unlawful and unethical activities . This has pressured the government to introduce appropriate measures to prevent activities of hackers who indulge in criminal activities . However , media has given a negative picture of hackers . It is not correct to suggest that all hackers aim to exploit other computers to achieve their selfish motives . There is a need to distinguish between different groups of hackers as some hackers are interested in contributing to the advancement of computer knowledge while another group of hackers are interested in violating the code of computer ethics , which every computer user is expected to observe . The second type of hackers needs to be punished in to discourage hacking that creates enormous problems to the computer users . The users of computers need to update their computer knowledge in to prevent crackers from obtaining their personal information

References

Delio , M (2004 . Hacktivism and How It Got Here . Retrieved August 12 2006 from Wired

News Web site : http /www .wired .com /news /infostructure /1 ,64193-0 .html

Hesseldahl , A (1998 . Hacking for Human Rights ? Retrieved August 12 2006 from Wired

News Web site : http /www .wired .com

Kastor , G (2002 . Computer Hacking . Retrieved August 13 , 2006 from Educator 's Guide to

Computer Crime and Technology Misuse Web site http /lrs .ed .uiuc .edu /wp /crime-2002 /computercrime .htm

McKay , N (1998 . China : The Great Firewall . Retrieved August 10 , 2006 from Wired .com

Web site : http /www .wired .com /news /politics /1 ,16545-0 .html

Palmer , R .C (2001 . Ethical Hacking . IBM Systems Journal . 40 (3 769-780

Stallman , R (2002 . On Hacking . Retrieved August 10 , 2006 from Richard Stallman 's home

page Web site : http /www .stallman .org /home .html

Stone , D (1999 . Computer Hacking . Retrieved August 10 , 2006 from Lrs .ed .uiuc .edu Web site

http /lrs .ed .uiuc .edu /wp /crime /hacking .htm

Tigaux , R (2000 . A History of Hacking . Retrieved August 10 , 2006 from St . Petersburg Times

Online Web site : http /www .sptimes .com

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