Introduction
The use of hacking to identify weaknesses in computer security has become an increasingly controversial issue in recent years. Awareness of this issue is important, because our ever increasing reliance on technology means that breaches in computer security have the potential to have wide-ranging and devastating consequences to society, worldwide. This essay will begin by clearly defining the term ‘hacking’ and will examine the type of people who hack and for what reasons. There will then follow a discussion of the moral argument on hacking before examining a few brief examples. The essay will then conclude by arguing against the use of hacking as a means of identifying weaknesses in computer security.
What is it to ‘hack’?
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:
1. Unauthorised access to computer material.
2. Unauthorised access with intent to commit or facilitate commission of further offences.
3. Unauthorised acts with intent to impair, or with recklessness as to impairing, operation of computer, etc.
a. Making, supplying or obtaining articles for use in offence under section 1 or 3
The important phrase to draw from both the dictionary and legal definitions is ‘unauthorised access.’ This will be useful for helping t...
... middle of paper ...
...tionaries.com/definition/english/hack
Rouse, M. (2007). Definition: Black Hat. Retrieved 11 17, 2013, from searchsecurity.techtarget.com: http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/definition/black-hat
Rouse, M. (2007). Definition: White Hat. Retrieved 11 17, 2013, from searchsecurity.techtarget.com: http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/definition/white-hat
Staff, A. (2011). Lulz? Sony hackers deny responsibility for misuse of leaked data. Retrieved 11 17, 2013, from arstechnic.com: http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2011/06/lulz-sony-hackers-deny-responsibility-for-misuse-of-leaked-data/
Techterms. (2013). Hacker. Retrieved 11 17, 2013, from techterms.com: http://www.techterms.com/definition/hacker
Yeo, V. (2006). Do former black hats make good hires? Retrieved Feburary 1, 2014, from www.zdnet.com: http://www.zdnet.com/do-former-black-hats-make-good-hires-2061955207/
The Ted Talk presented by Catherine Bracy took the word hacking to another level. A new way of looking at a hacker. A hacker meaning much more than a teen behind a computer trying to steal information. The points she brought out is that reaching out to the people can get things done and strengthen relationships between people and an organization and through that relationship both parties are more stable and content. Bracy expressed her experiences with hackers in a government and citizen view, but this can also be applied to personal and
In conclusion Hackers started off as experts in programming and curious intellectuals advancing the limits of technology, but have evolved into a diverse world view. Additionally the shift from hardware onto software to the internet have boosted the increase in number of malicious hackers. With the emergence of new technologies so is the renewed efforts to combat the loopholes and help protect the public.
Gray, (Curador) Raphael. Who are Hackers? March 2003. 30 September 2003. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/hackers/whoare. html> Hackers. Dir. Iain Softly. Metro Goldwyn Mayer, 1995.
Hacker only has 50 years history, computer hacker crime is one of the mots dangerous crime threat at 21th century. Hacktivism is a new class of hacker has emerged, “the so-called hacktivist, who engages in hacking of computer networks and systems as a form of protest”(Hargrave,2012). Hacker crimes have use computer programming skill to make errors on your computer that control your computer to get information and change your computer system. Since in 1970s, computer hackers are called “phreaks”, which mean by phone hacker. Computer hacker is becoming form phone hacker. In the early 1970, Computer hacker is positive to the society, many of computer programmers were “began looking for ways to get the most out of the machines. “(Deivtt,2001) And then, they are created applications called hacks, which are “applications and allow more tasks to be completed in a shorter time.” (Deivtt,2001).In the early 1980.Hackers using computers and the internet for their own questionable gains. The first computer hacker crime is in the 1983.” six teenagers from
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,
Lu, Polgar, Luo, & Cao (2010) hypothesized that computer security is not as much about the aspect of technology, instead it is more concerned with the mental and social science activities of the individuals who utilize computer technology. The authors supported this point of view by stating that computers only channel the transgressions of the individuals who exploit them. Xu, Hu, & Zhang (2013) attributed the upsurge of hackers to the popularity of the internet and the prevalence computer systems. The authors maintained that a notable portion of the hacking community is intelligent college-age individuals who begin hacking out of curiosity and end up exploiting their talents to commit cybercrime (Xu et al., 2013) Originally, hacking did not have a negative connotation. Deriving around the late 1950s, the expression hacker referred to an exceptionally adept programmer and convergent thinker that could formulate innovative solutions to overcome constraints of primitive computer systems (Bachmann, 2010; Lu et al., 2010).
We all know that hacking has been all over the place, practically it’s been going as long as the Internet has been alive. As we are all aware that selected amount of people just love to try and break into a computer system. But of course it’s not right for people to be hacking other people’s personal
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.
References to Beddoes’ hacks (Bisson) evoke resentment among readers; they see that black hat hackers gain more by participating in illicit activities than honest citizens do in a year of work, causing them to feel as if it is unfair to themselves because they are stealing from honest citizens like most readers would be. Also, in emphasizing the damages done by black hat hackers and the mysterious backgrounds they often seem to come from, fuel is added to the fire of an already negative connotation. As the other two articles mention, the common perception of hackers is that they are rebellious teenagers out to destroy the world regardless of the channel used. The background described in this article supports those theories when Beddoes speaks of his past as a teenager who started out with an innocent interest in hacking and then transitions into a rebellious malicious hacker after being rejected by the companies that he was trying to assist. Beddoes’ ethos also supports the goal of the article because he is a credible, well-established hacker in recent years. After almost pulling off a multimillion dollar heist, he is a respected yet accessible authority on the topic. Statistics to quantify the amount of data Beddoes stole in his hacking career provide the base to an argument supported by logos. Referring to those numbers also evokes strong emotions in accordance with the amount of people losing money and being victimized by hackers. Readers are inclined to feel sympathy towards the victims of the hackers, evoking an even greater amount of resentment towards the hackers. The content of Bisson’s article effectively supports a negative reaction to
What comes to mind when you hear the word ‘hacker’? For most it means stealing information through the Internet, gaining illegal access to another person’s PC, or simply - disruptive behavior using a computer. The subject of hacking is no secret to the general public. Many people have been exposed to it by a bad experience or through the news and media. The idea of hacking that is stuck in the minds of people is that of which they have seen in the movies. The movies portray hackers as young and devious criminals. However, in reality these individuals are, talented people who use their abilities to find new and challenging ways to change how computers work. According to the Cult of the Dead Cow (weird name), a hacking organization, true hackers do not get into the system to erase everything or to sell the information to someone else. They get in there to satisfy their curiosity to see if getting into the system can be done, to search around inside of a place they have never been, and to explore the little nooks and crannies of cyberspace. Of course there are those who erase files from other people’s computers, steal information from cyberspace, and vandalize web pages. These people are not hackers, as the media calls them, they are known as crackers. Hackers use their vast knowledge to better the computer industry. Hacking started even before computers became popular. The earliest forms of hacking started in the 1960’s, when AT & T was the only phone company. Back then the telephone was taken for granted and the way the phone system worked was a complete mystery. Phones were considered an early form of the computer. Those that tried to understand the phone system more and find ways to make free phone calls from pay phones were kno...
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.
The term “hacker” has been in use since the early 1980’s due to mass media usage to describe computer criminals. The use of this term is vastly used by the general population and most are not aware that there are different meanings to the word. People within the computing community especially within the programming subculture emphasize the use of the term “crackers” for computer security intruders (cyber criminals). Early hackers rarely used their skills for financial gain as a motivation for their criminal behavior in that time cybercrime was infantile and largely seen as a practical joke or game by those who committed it. Bob Thomas created the first credited computer worm n...
Hacking was a term established in the 1960s. This word is the concept of unauthorised intrusion of a computer or network with malicious intentions behind them. This includes any technical effort of manipulating or damaging the normal behaviour of network connections/systems or stealing information. In this generation, hacking has become evidently significant and the debate of hacking being considered ethical or unethical arises. Therefore, will hacking ever be justified? The justification (reasonableness) of hacking has become a disputation of mixed opinions and emotions amongst society. These opinions range from hacking being considered immoral due to it being illegal activity and the vast negative impact it has on people. This includes the affirmative opinions on hacking; such as hacking being considered ethical due to the “white hat” hackers.
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..
Harvey, Brian."Computer Hacking and Ethics." Ed. Paul Goodman, P.G. Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences. U of California, Berkeley, n.d. Web. 25 Jan. 2014.