FREE ESSAY ON COMPUTER HACKER

COMPUTER HACKER

Laws must be passed to address the increase in the number and types of computer crimes.
Over the last twenty years, a technological revolution has occurred as computers are now
an essential element of today's society. Large computers are used to track reservations
for the airline industry, process billions of dollars for banks, manufacture products for
industry, and conduct major transactions for businesses because more and more people now
have computers at home and at the office. 
People commit computer crimes because of society's declining ethical standards more than
any economic need. According to experts, gender is the only bias. The profile of today's
non-professional thieves crosses all races, age groups and economic strata. Computer
criminals tend to be relatively honest and in a position of trust: few would do anything
to harm another human, and most do not consider their crime to be truly dishonest. Most
are males: women have tended to be accomplices, though of late they are becoming more
aggressive. Computer Criminals tend to usually be between the ages of 14-30, they are
usually bright, eager, highly motivated, adventuresome, and willing to accept technical
challenges.(Shannon, 16:2) It is tempting to liken computer criminals to other criminals,
ascribing characteristics somehow different from 'normal' individuals, but that is not
the case.(Sharp, 18:3) It is believed that the computer criminal often marches to the
same drum as the potential victim but follows and unanticipated path.(Blumenthal, 1:2) 
There is no actual profile of a computer criminal because they range from young teens to
elders, from black to white, from short to tall. Definitions of computer crime has
changed over the years as the users and misusers of computers have expanded into new
areas. When computers were first introduced into businesses, computer crime was defined
simply as a form of white-collar crime committed inside a computer system.(2600:Summer
92,p.13) Some new terms have been added to the computer criminal vocabulary. Trojan Horse
is a hidden code put into a computer program. Logic bombs are implanted so that the
perpetrator doesn't have to physically present himself or herself. (Phrack 12,p.43)
Another form of a hidden code is salamis. It came from the big salami loaves sold in
delis years ago. Often people would take small portions of bites that were taken out of
them and then they were secretly returned to the shelves in the hopes that no one would
notice them missing.(Phrack 12,p.44) 
Congress has been reacting to the outbreak of computer crimes. The U.S. House of
Judiciary Committee approved a bipartisan computer crime bill that was expanded to make
it a federal crime to hack into credit and other data bases protected by federal privacy
statutes.(Markoff, B 13:1) This bill is generally creating several categories of federal
misdemeanor felonies for unauthorized access to computers to obtain money, goods or
services or classified information. 
This also applies to computers used by the federal government or used in interstate of
foreign commerce which would cover any system accessed by interstate telecommunication
systems. Computer crime often requires more sophistications than people realize
it.(Sullivan, 40:4) Many U.S. businesses have ended up in bankruptcy court unaware that
they have been victimized by disgruntled employees. 
American businesses wishes that the computer security nightmare would vanish like a fairy
tale. Information processing has grown into a gigantic industry. It accounted for $33
billion in services in 1983, and in 1988 it was accounted to be $88 billion. (Blumenthal,
B 1:2) All this information is vulnerable to greedy employees, nosy-teenagers and general
carelessness, yet no one knows whether the sea of computer crimes is only as big as the
Gulf of Mexico or as huge as the North Atlantic. (Blumenthal,B 1:2) 
Vulnerability is likely to increase in the future. And by the turn of the century, nearly
all of the software to run computers will be bought from vendors rather than developed in
houses, standardized software will make theft easier. (Carley, A 1:1) A two-year secret
service investigation code-named Operation Sun-Devil, targeted companies all over the
United States and led to numerous seizures. 
Critics of Operation Sun-Devil claim that the Secret Service and the FBI, which have
almost a similar operation, have conducted unreasonable search and seizures, they
disrupted the lives and livelihoods of many people, and generally conducted themselves in
an unconstitutional manner. My friend life changed because of that operation. They
charged his life and he had to take them to court. 
A 14-year old boy connects his home computer to a television line, and taps into the
computer at his neighborhood bank and regularly transfers money into his personnel
account.(2600:Spring 93,p.19) On paper and on screens a popular new mythology is growing
quickly in which computer criminals are the 'Butch Cassidys' of the electronic age. These
true tales of computer capers are far from being futuristic fantasies.(2600:Spring
93:p.19) 
They are inspired by scores of real life cases. Computer crimes are not just crimes
against the computer, but it is also against the theft of money, information, software,
benefits and welfare and many more. With the average damage from a computer crime
amounting to about $.5 million, sophisticated computer crimes can rock the
industry.(Phrack 25,p.6) 
Computer crimes can take on many forms. Swindling or stealing of money is one of the most
common computer crime. An example of this kind of crime is the Well Fargo Bank that
discovered an employee was using the banks computer to embezzle $21.3 million, it is the
largest U.S. electronic bank fraud on record. (Phrack 23,p.46) 
Credit Card scams are also a type of computer crime. This is one that fears many people
and for good reasons. A fellow computer hacker that goes by the handle of Raven is
someone who uses his computer to access credit data bases. In a talk that I had with him
he tried to explain what he did and how he did it. He is a very intelligent person
because he gained illegal access to a credit data base and obtained the credit history of
local residents. He then allegedly uses the residents names and credit information to
apply for 24 Mastercards and Visa cards. He used the cards to issue himself at least
40,000 in cash from a number of automatic teller machines. He was caught once but was
only withdrawing $200 and in was a minor larceny and they couldn't prove that he was the
one who did the other ones so he was put on probation. I was 17 and I needed money and
the people in the underground taught me many things. I would not go back and not do what
I did but I would try not to get caught next time. I am the leader of HTH (High Tech
Hoods) and we are currently devising other ways to make money. If it weren't for my
computer my life would be nothing like it is today.(Interview w/Raven) 
Finally, one of the thefts involving the computer is the theft of computer time. Most of
us don't realize this as a crime, but the congress consider this as a crime.(Ball,V85)
Everyday people are urged to use the computer but sometimes the use becomes excessive or
improper or both. For example, at most colleges computer time is thought of as free-good
students and faculty often computerizes mailing lists for their churches or fraternity
organizations which might be written off as good public relations. But, use of the
computers for private consulting projects without payment of the university is clearly
improper. In business it is the similar. Management often looks the other way when
employees play computer games or generate a Snoopy calendar. But, if this becomes
excessive the employees is stealing work time. And computers can only process only so
many tasks at once. Although considered less severe than other computer crimes such
activities can represent a major business loss. While most attention is currently being
given to the criminal aspects of computer abuses, it is likely that civil action will
have an equally important effect on long term security problems.(Alexander, V119) 
The issue of computer crimes draw attention to the civil or liability aspects in
computing environments. In the future there may tend to be more individual and class
action suits. 
Conclusion, computer crimes are fast and growing because the evolution of technology is
fast, but the evolution of law is slow. While a variety of states have passed legislation
relating to computer crime, the situation is a national problem that requires a national
solution. Controls can be instituted within industries to prevent such crimes. Protection
measures such as hardware identification, access controls software and disconnecting
critical bank applications should be devised. However, computers don't commit crimes;
people do. The perpetrator's best advantage is ignorance on the part of those protecting
the system. Proper internal controls reduce the opportunity for fraud. 
Bibliography
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Alexander, Charles, Crackdown on Computer Capers, Time, Feb. 8, 1982, V119. Ball, Leslie
D., 
Computer Crime, Technology Review, April 1982, V85. Blumenthal,R. 
Going Undercover in the Computer Underworld. New York Times, Jan. 26, 1993, B, 1:2.
Carley, W. 
As Computers Flip, People Lose Grip in Saga of Sabatoge at Printing Firm. Wall Street
Journal, Aug. 27, 1992, A, 1:1. Carley, W. 
In-House Hackers: Rigging Computers for Fraud or Malice Is Often an Inside Job. Wall
Street Journal, Aug 27, 1992, A, 7:5. Markoff, J. 
Hackers Indicted on Spy Charges. New York Times, Dec. 8, 1992, B, 13:1. Finn, Nancy and
Peter,
Don't Rely on the Law to Stop Computer Crime, Computer World, Dec. 19, 1984, V18. Phrack
Magazine issues 1-46. Compiled by Knight Lightning and Phiber Optik. Shannon, L R. 
THe Happy Hacker. New York Times, Mar. 21, 1993, 7, 16:2. Sharp, B. 
The Hacker Crackdown. New York Times, Dec. 20, 1992, 7, 18:3. Sullivan, D. 
U.S. Charges Young Hackers. New York Times, Nov. 15, 1992, 1, 40:4. 2600: The Hacker
Quarterly. Issues Summer 92-Spring 93. Compiled by Emmanuel Goldstein.