Computer hacking

Computer hacking is the practice of modifying computer hardware and

software to accomplish a goal outside of the creator’s original purpose.
People who engage in computer hacking activities are often called hackers.
Since the word “hack” has long been used to describe someone who is
incompetent at his/her profession, some hackers claim this term is offensive
and fails to give appropriate recognition to their skills.

EARLY HISTORY
During the 1960s, the word "hacker" grew to prominence describing a person
with strong computer skills, an extensive understanding of how computer
programs worked, and a driving curiosity about computer systems. Hacking,
however, soon became nearly synonymous with illegal activity. While the
first incidents of hacking dealt with breaking into phone systems, hackers
also began diving into computer systems as technology advanced.

Hacking became increasingly problematic during the 1980s. As a result, the

Computer Fraud and Abuse Act was created, imposing more severe
punishments for those caught abusing computer systems. In the early 1980s,
the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) made one of its first arrests related
to hacking. A Milwaukee-based group known as the 414s were accused of
breaking into 60 different computer systems including the Memorial Sloan-
Kettering Cancer Center and the Los Alamos National Laboratory. Later that
decade, the infamous Kevin Mitnick was arrested and sentenced to one year
in jail for damaging computers and stealing software. He was arrested again
in 1995 for computer fraud and put in jail for hacking Motorola Inc., Sun
Microsystems Inc., NEC Corp., and Novell Inc. to steal software, product
plans, and data. Mitnick eventually cost the firms a total of roughly $80
million.
As negative publicity surrounding hackers continued to grow, those who
considered themselves true hackers—computer programming enthusiasts
who pushed computer systems to their limits without malicious intent and
followed a hacker code of ethics—grew weary of the media's depiction of
hackers. As a result, several hacker groups coined the term 'cracker' in 1985
to define a person who broke into computer systems and ignored hacker
ethics; however, the media continued to use the word hacker despite the
fact that although most early hackers believed technical information should
be freely available to any person, they abided by a code of ethics that looked
down upon destroying, moving, or altering information in a way could cause
injury or expense.

AT&T Corp., Griffith Air Force Base, NASA, and the Korean Atomic Research
Institute all fell prey to hackers in the early 1990s. Federal World Wide Web
sites, including those of the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Air Force,
and the CIA, were also attacked by hackers and defaced. During 1995 alone,
U.S. Defense Department computers dealt with 250,000 hacker attacks. As
technology advanced and business transactions conducted over the Internet
increased, malicious hackers became even more destructive. Popular Web
sites such as Yahoo!, America Online, eBay, and Amazon.com were hacked,
costing millions and leaving online shoppers doubtful about security on these
sites; a 16-year-old Canadian boy operating under the name Mafiaboy was
arrested for these attacks, as well as for breaking into both Harvard's and
Yale's university computer systems. Under the terms of his parole, Mafiaboy
was not allowed to use the Internet or go into stores that sold computers,
and his computer use was limited to that which was supervised by a teacher
at school.

Computer hacking is most common among teenagers and young adults,

although there are many older hackers as well. Many hackers are true
technology buffs who enjoy learning more about how computers work and
consider computerhacking an “art” form. They often enjoy programming and
have expert-level skills in one particular program. For these
individuals, computer hacking is a real life application of their problem-
solving skills. It’s a chance to demonstrate their abilities, not an opportunity
to harm others.

Since a large number of hackers are self-taught prodigies,

some corporationsactually employ computer hackers as part of their
technical support staff. These individuals use their skills to find flaws in the
company’s security system so that they can be repaired quickly. In many
cases, this type of computer hacking helps prevent identity theft and other
serious computer-related crimes.

Computer hacking can also lead to other constructive technological

developments, since many of the skills developed from hacking apply to
more mainstream pursuits. For example, former hackers Dennis Ritchie and
Ken Thompson went on to create the UNIX operating system in the 1970s.
This system had a huge impact on the development ofLinux, a free UNIX-like
operating system. Shawn Fanning, the creator of Napster, is
another hacker well known for his accomplishments outside
of computer hacking.

In comparison to those who develop an interest in computer hacking out of

simple intellectual curiosity, some hackers have less noble motives. Hackers
who are out to steal personal information, change a corporation’s financial
data, break security codes to gain unauthorized network access, or conduct
other destructive activities are sometimes called “crackers.” This type
of computer hacking can earn you a trip to a federal prison for up to 20
years.

If you are interested in protecting your home computer against malicious

hackers, investing in a good firewall is highly recommended. It’s also a good
idea to check your software programs for updates on a regular basis. For
example, Microsoft offers a number of free security patches for
its Internet Explorer browser.

DIFFERENT TYPES OF HACKING ACTIVITY

As the cost of hacking attacks continues to rise, businesses have been forced
to increase spending on network security. However, hackers have also
developed new skills that allow them to break into more complex systems.
Hacking typically involves compromising the security of networks, breaking
the security of application software, or creating malicious programs such as
viruses.

The most popular forms of network hacking are denial of service (DoS)
attacks and mail bombs. DoS attacks are designed to swamp a computer
network, causing it to crash. Mail bombs act in a similar fashion, but attack
the network's mail servers. When eBay was attacked in February 2000, its
Web server was bombarded with fake requests for Web pages, which
overloaded the site and caused it to crash. Network hackers also try to break
into secure areas to find sensitive data. Once a network is hacked, files can
be removed, stolen, or erased. A group of teens in Wichita, Kansas, for
example, hacked into AOL and stole credit card numbers that they then used
to buy video games.

Application hackers break security on application software—software

including word processing and graphics programs—in order to get it for free.
One way they gain access to software that requires a serial number for
installation is by setting up a serial number generator that will try millions of
different combinations until a match is found. Application hackers also
sometimes attack the program itself in an attempt to remove certain security
features.

Hackers that create viruses, logic bombs, worms, and Trojan horses are
involved in perhaps the most malicious hacking activities. A virus is a
program that has the potential to attack and corrupt computer files by
attaching itself to a file to replicate itself. It can also cause a computer to
crash by utilizing all of the computer's resources. For example, e-mail
systems were inundated with the "ILOVEYOU" and the "Love Bug" viruses in
May of 2000, and the damage to individuals, businesses, and institutions was
estimated at roughly $10 billion.
Similar to viruses, logic bombs are designed to attack when triggered by a
certain event like a change in date. Worms attack networks in order to
replicate and spread. In July of 2001, a worm entitled "Code Red" began
attacking Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS) systems. The worm
infected servers running Windows NT 4, Windows 2000, Windows XP, and IIS
4.0 and defaced Web sites, leaving the phrase "Welcome
to www.worm.com Hacked by Chinese!" Finally, a Trojan horse is a program
that appears to do one thing, but really does something else. While a
computer system might recognize a Trojan horse as a safe program, upon
execution, it can release a virus, worm, or logic bomb.

Hacker attitudes

The term "hacker" has a number of different meanings. Several subgroups

with different attitudes and aims use different terms to demarcate
themselves from each other, or try to exclude some specific group with
which they do not agree. In a computer security context, it is often
synonymous with a computer intruder.

Paul A. Taylor quotes Steven Levy when describing the hacker ethic as:

1. All information should be free;

2. Mistrust authority--promote decentralization;
3. Hackers should be judged by their hacking, not bogus criteria
such as degrees, age, race, or position;
4. You can create art and beauty on a computer; and
5. Computers can change your life for the better.

It is common among hackers to use aliases for the purpose of concealing

identity, rather than revealing their real names. Members of the network
hacking scene are often being stereotypically described as crackers by the
academic hacker subculture, yet see themselves as hackers and even try to
include academic hackers in what they see as one wider hacker culture, a
view harshly rejected by the academic hacker subculture itself. Instead of a
hacker – cracker dichotomy, they give more emphasis to a spectrum of
different categories, such as white hat (“ethical hacking”), grey hat, black
hat and script kiddie. In contrast to the academic hackers, they usually
reserve the term cracker to refer to black hat hackers, or more generally
hackers with unlawful intentions.

White hat

A white hat hacker breaks security for non-malicious reasons.

Grey hat

A grey hat hacker is a hacker of ambiguous ethics and/or borderline

legality, often frankly admitted.

Black Hat

A black hat hacker is someone who subverts computer security without

authorization or who uses technology (usually a computer or the Internet) for
terrorism, vandalism (malicious destruction), credit card fraud, identity theft,
intellectual property theft, or many other types of crime. This can mean
taking control of a remote computer through a network, or software
cracking.

Cyberterrorist

A Cyberterrorist uses technology to commit terrorism. Their intentions

are to cause harm to social, ideological, religious, political, or governmental
establishments. Will be considered as a hacktivist by some.

Script kiddie

A script kiddie a non-expert who breaks into computer systems by

using pre-packaged automated tools written by others.

Hacktivist

A hacktivist is a hacker who utilizes technology to announce a political

message. Will be considered a cyberterrorist by some.