Own Your Hacker and Cracker

Adrian Lamo started early. He dates his first �hack� (an especially clever computer use) to grade school�a tricky technique to double-write an old disk on the computer he had when he was 8. (Double-writing was a neat trick that allowed users to store twice as much information.) By 18, Adrian was on his own and making quite a name in the hacker community.
Adrian�s specialty was breaking into the computer networks of top American companies. Dubbed the �helpful hacker� by the media, Adrian didn�t take advantage of these break-ins. Instead, he reported his exploits to the network administrators of his victims and often the press.
By 2001, when he was still only 20, Adrian told a Security Focus reporter that his major problem was, �I�m running out of major U.S. corporations.� Sadly, that really wasn�t his only problem.
When the New York Times fell victim to Adrian�s skill, they didn�t say, �Thanks!� They pressed charges. Eventually, Adrian was sentenced to
2 years probation and ordered to pay restitution of over $64,000. Having faced up to 5 years behind bars, he got off easy.

Like Adrian, many hackers don�t really expect to be prosecuted. Others just don�t expect to be caught. The types and intentions of hackers have been changing. In the past, hackers defaced Websites simply because it was considered �cool.� Today, hackers are financially and even politically motivated. In this chapter, you�ll learn about the types of hackers and the tools that hackers use. We�ll also discuss how you can learn more about security issues and careers in computer security.

• Hackers

Many teens put their computer skills to use in hacking games�prowling the Internet for shortcuts and ways to �cheat� their favorite computer games. While people use the same term, hacking computers is MUCH different than hacking games. Hacking a game by using a cheat is something many gamers do. Hacking a computer without authorization of the owner is a crime. Don�t think it�s cool simply because Hollywood puts a glamorous spin on it. Consider Jeffrey Lee Parson, an 18-year-old Minnesota teen arrested for releasing a variation on the Blaster worm. While Parson�s goal was to make a name for himself as a programmer, what he got was a criminal record and 18 months in prison. Juju Jiang of Queens, New York was sentenced to 27 months for installing keyboard loggers at a Kinko�s copy center and using the passwords logged to access victim�s bank accounts. The convictions continue, and the sentences are becoming more serious. Brian Salcedo was a teenager when he broke into Lowe�s computers and installed software to steal customers� credit card numbers, but he still got 9 years.
While early hackers (particularly teens), got off relatively easy, that trend is turning as the public becomes more aware of the actual costs of computer crime. Lawmakers have also tightened up statutes to include computer crimes. As one prosecutor, U.S. Attorney John McKay said, �Let there be no mistake about it, cyber-hacking is a crime.� 

• What Is A Hacker?
• In general usage, a hacker is someone who breaks into someone else�s computer system or personal files without permission.
  Some experts like to use the term cracker instead, like a safe cracker, because hacker can also have other meanings. A small number of programmers like to call themselves hackers and claim that hacking is just coming up with especially clever programming techniques. There�s some truth to this, but once Hollywood got hold of the term hacker, they didn�t let go.
  So long as the general public thinks of hackers as computer vandals and criminals, there�s not much use trying to redefine the word. For this reason, when we talk about people who break into computer systems in this book, we�ll be calling them hackers and not crackers.
  In the early years, most hackers were computer geeks�usually computer science students�and often fit the profile of brilliant loners seeking to make a name for themselves. But don�t forget that not all hackers have talent. Script kiddies are low-talent hackers (often immature teens) who use easy well-known techniques to exploit Internet security vulnerabilities. Hackers come from all walks of life. Some hackers are still computer science students. Others are former employees trying to get even with a company they feel wronged them. Still others are part of organized crime rings.
  A current fear among law enforcement agencies is the emergence of cyber-terrorists. In our post-9/11 world, governments are beginning to realize just how much damage could be done to world economies if one or more outlaw groups were to fly the technological equivalent of a jet plane into the information highway. This was a major fear in the initial hours of the Code Red outbreak which targeted the official White House website. In theory, a cyber-terrorist could cause substantial damage by shutting down the world economy (literally crashing the computers that run the world�s financial markets), or�more likely�by attacking infrastructure by attacking the computers that run our heating systems, power plants, hospitals, water purification systems, etc. When you consider just how technologically dependent most first-world nations are, the possibilities for disaster become nearly endless. While the Internet has yet to fend off a major terrorist attack, the potential for damage is staggering. Both the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) recognize this threat. Currently, FEMA and DHS have teamed up in the Cyberterrorism Defense Initiative (CDI), providing free counterterrorism training to those people who provide and protect our national infrastructure. Classes are free to qualified personnel in government, law enforcement, firefighting, public utilities, public safety and health, emergency medical services, and colleges and universities. Clearly, cyber terrorism will remain a serious threat for the foreseeable future.
  
  
  Download E-Book  
  Own Your Hacker and Cracker