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HUM 142

Michelle DiTerlizzi

Professor Booth

Due:  June 30, 2003

       The Internet has become a home for many individuals and companies.  Whether schoolwork, communications, business, or government issues become evident the Internet is used extensively.  Individuals even rely on the web for private issues, when thinking they are safe and not vulnerable, or they know they are vulnerable but don’t believe they will get hacked.   However in reality the Internet is not safe or private by any means.  The Internet was designed to be open and to be used as a tool, keeping everyone connected.  Now society is producing software, which keeps files and documents private, well to an extent.  This is needed in today’s culture because of people who break into others private business.  The people, who crack codes, steal credit card numbers, or just break into information that is secret are generally know as hackers.  There are different types and classifications of hackers, which invade privacy for different reasons.  Yet there are also ways to avoid making your information more vulnerable.  The Internet sources explaining these issues are important and suggest government actions are enforced. 

     Computer criminals can range from petty theft to state-sponsored terrorism.  Crimes involve credit card fraud, where some credit card numbers have been sold in a massive amount and used globally.  There are also crimes that involve the stealing of technology.  Frontline has large articles and interviews surrounding these issues.   Richard Power, Editorial Director of the Computer Security Institute (CSI) has much to say regarding the issue of cyberspace invasion.   Richard talks about the different ways people hack and why.  Mr. Power tells his audience that there are cyberspace muggers who steal personal identities and can stalk your loved ones online.  Yet there are also other hackers who want to steal technology, high and low.  Power also talks about cults who are aggressive and steal information that is confidential to the United States.  These hackers can either steal the information to gather cleverness and carry out operations or erase information that is of importance to its company.   Mr. Power speaks of young hackers that are inexperienced and get caught.  These hackers are generally not out for stealing information but for bragging opportunities and to explore (Frontline 1,2).  

     Frontline asked Mr. Power about different cases that have taken place around the world and at different times.   He came up with The Aum Shinri Kyo incident, which involved hacking into Japanese corporations and other units around the world, who were preparing for chemical warfare.  It was caught and destroyed literally a day before it was deployed.  Another major case that he discussed is called BlackNet.    These people were called crackers, who tapped into the FBI’s National Crime Database and messed with the phone lines.   They actually called drug dealers and warned them that the FBI tapped their phones and some major drug busts that were about to go down never happened. They were caught but it took a while for a conviction.  Now these youngsters were amateurs, so it’s hard to imagine there maybe worse cases happening as we speak (Frontline 2-4). 

The Citibank case concerned Russians cracking codes and stealing money from Citibank.  They got away with stealing over 10 million dollars before getting caught and convicted.  This is a good warning to many people who are involved with online banking, because even though some have an ID and password, your account is extremely vulnerable.  This is a key reason why this case is discrete, because banks do not want to discourage online use.  Richard gives the audience advice in making cyberspace a safer place.  He state, “I think it will have to do with tort law, civil liability, and exposure (Frontline 4). 

       In the same Frontline interview Bruce Schneier, author of Applied Cryptography and Secrets and Lies:  Digital Security in Networked World.  He talks about the dangers for the average computer users that are much higher than an average person could imagine.  One may think they have nothing to hide but there are some serious matters to examine.  First, a hacker may break into your computer and use it to break into a system.  So one would have no idea this is happening and if authorities check the case the computer that was broken into may be the base and the owner, except the computer, had no actual part in the hacking job.  Credit cards are also a large problem that most people have today.  If anyone has ever purchased anything online then your card number is available for hackers to steal and use at there dispense.  Other than average computer users, corporations are in a lot of danger.  This is because the Internet is not a definite store anyone anywhere can break into any place on the Internet at anytime.  Mr. Schneier also shares, “I believe the Internet will never be secure… there seems to be of low-level crime in hacking is that its very easy to be anonymous … we have to spend more time detecting crime, responding to crime, and prosecuting crime on the Internet, just like we prosecute crime on the streets to make our cities safe … the real moral is that the Internet is no different than the real world (Frontline 5-7).”

     Count Zero, member of the Cult of the Dead Crow (a hacker organization), shares his thoughts on the Internet.  Count says that the Internet is not a library “…it’s a mirror of society.”  This is the reason Y2K was such a big deal, some thought it was hype but it would have been a real tragedy if something serious were to happen (Frontline 11).

     Jeremy Quittner, author of Hacker Psych 101, writes a short discovery page on hackers.  He spoke with Marc Rogers, researcher and former cyber detective also Jerold M. Post, a psychiatrist at George Washington University.  Both Rogers and Post agree that hackers seem to think that their behavior is rational in a service to society.  Some even blame the victims they attack, evolving an ethical flexibility.   Also because hacking is performed over the Internet it may be treated as a game and serious consequences could be ignore (Quittner 1). 

     Rogers defines different sorts of hackers and says that not all hackers are criminals.  He puts them into four categories:  old school hackers, script kiddies or cyber-punks, professional criminals or crackers, and coders and virus writers.  He explains that old school hackers are hacking in a badge of honor.  They are interested in lines and codes, just to see how they are written.  These actions are not malicious intentions, though they may have a lack of concern for privacy and protection.   This is because they believe the Internet was designed to be an open system.  Cyber-punks (hackers) are mostly between the ages of 12 and 30, predominately white males with an average education of 12^th grade.  The Internet is to descript or vandalize systems.  Crackers are those who make a living by breaking into systems and selling the information.  They may get hired by major companies to purposely break into their systems, which will be further talked about later.  Coders and Virus writers act as though they are elite.  They are intelligent and have programs and codes that they will not use.  Their work is called “Zoos” and they leave it in “the wild”, also known as the Internet for others to find and use (Quittner 1). 

     Post admits that these people gain a sense of power.  He states, “It’s a population that takes refuge in computers because of their problems sustaining real world relationships.  Causing millions of dollars of damage is a real power trip (Quittner 1).”

     On a CNN special David Mandeville write his story on “Hackers, Crackers, and Trojan Horses:  A Primer.”  Mr. Mandeville writes, “The term “hacker” usually brings to mind three of these people who break the security of networks, people who break into application software, and people who create malicious programs like viruses.  These are not mutually exclusive, but it’s a simple way to divide the activities that fall under “hacking” (Mandeville 1).”

     Network hackers engage in many activities that involve attacks on a Web server and “mail bombs”.  A mail bomb targets a victims mail server and floods it with junk requests.  Another form of Network hacking involves “penetrating a secure area by subverting its security measures.”   Mandeville says that a way of doing this is repeatedly entering passwords until the right one fits.  Once they get in, the information is either encrypted or unencrypted and no matter what, the hackers will find a way into the system and change information.  However for these network hackers “it’s more a test of skill than an attempt to steal or alter data (Mandeville 2).” 

     Software crackers are classified as software crackers who “develop their own software that can circumnavigate or falsify the security measures that keep the application from being replicated on a PC.”  Crackers are hackers who break into security software and also they have something in common with network hackers, in that they try to guess codes until one is correct and they are in.  Finding and altering security measures are things that these software hackers can perform easily (Mandeville 2). 

     Virus builders are types of hackers that can be malicious, however some are not.  “Viruses, worms, Trojan horses, and logic bombs are all forms of programs that can invade a system.  Viruses are tricky and sneaky at the same time.  Some are simple and easy to receive and some can even destroy an entire system.  Mandeville explains the other types of builders extremely well, “Worms invade computer and steal its resources to replicate themselves.  They use networks to spread themselves.  A Trojan horse appears to do one thing but does something else.   The system may accept it as one thing, but upon execution it may release a virus, worm or logic bomb.  A logic bomb is an attack triggered by an event, like the computer clock reaching a certain date.  It might release a virus or be a virus itself (Mandeville 2-3).”

     The next topic of discussion that CNN focuses on is No Defense.” Anyone connected to the Internet is really not safe from hackers.  However no one has ever been seriously hurt in these actions and our only defense seems to be security matters.  However “hackers see securities systems as a challenge not an obstacle.”  In other words hackers like a challenge and if security measures are being taken place they are going to accept that challenge with great pleasure (Mandeville 3).

     In Internet Security News (ISN) Kim Zetter writes, “Sleeping with the Enemy.”  Many major companies see hackers as a serious threat.  Which is the main reason these companies go out and search for an honest experienced hacker who they can pay to break into their systems.  That way the hackers can tell the company how it happened, where the holes are in the information and how to fix it so that malicious hackers do not steal or alter data.  Fourteen percent of organizations in the United States said that they were going to hire hackers for their defense, while 43 percent will be doing so in Australia.  “Perhaps”, Zetter writes, “it all depends on who you are calling a hacker.”  Although this method sounds appealing, companies need to realize the people they are hiring and really think if they can trust them.  Will the hacker turn against the company?  How can a person know and how can a reformed hacker who goes back into the business not be tempted.   There really is not an answer; a company is taking a major chance in hiring these people and have to realize that if they are being attacked, it may be from an inside source (Zetter 1-3). 

     In conclusion, hackers are classified as many types of people.  White hackers and black hackers or good vs. bad is a way to think of them also.  The Internet is not a safe place and it is not secure, you are vulnerable to anyone and these are facts individuals using the Internet need to be aware of.  Hackers will always be a part of the Internet it’s whether or not government will take action against these matters seriously or not.  Some advice for future Internet users whether in a business or for individual use, be prepared and ready for anything because one may never know who is watching.

 Works Cited

“The dangers confronting computer users, corporations and

government.” Frontline. 2001 <www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/hackers/risks/dangers>.

Mandeville, David. “Hackers, Crackers, and Trojan Horses: A

Primer.” CNN-In Depth Special. 29 March 1999. <http://www.cnn.com/TECH/specials/hackers/primer/>.

Quittner, Jeremy. “Hacker Psych 101”. TLC Life Unscripted.

2003. <http://tlc.discovery.com/convergence/hackers/articles/psych_print.html>.

Zetter, Kim. “[ISN] Sleeping with the Enemy.” 13 Aug 2002.

<http://www.landfield.com/isn/mail-archive/2002/Aug0038.html>.