Hacking Hackers

Ever since computers have been networked together with access to the internet someone has been there using their creativity to destroy. When will these senseless acts end? I would presume hackers will always exist as long as computers do. When we think of some of the hackers’ motives, we see that some hack to feel smart and sophisticated. Unfortunately, these hackers’ curiosity causes monetary damage. A recent example of this is a spyware program called ZeuS, which has infected over 75,000 computers worldwide. ZeuS has been responsible for stolen financial information, email accounts, sensitive business records, and intellectual property. ZeuS has been attributed to accessing computers remotely without the computer owners’ consent. ZeuS brings back memories of a worm called Conficker. History does repeat itself. Right now we have program patches and antivirus programs to help prevent some of these viruses from spreading. Although these prevention techniques help, they don’t make us bullet proof from these attacks. Who knows what pivotal event might slow or extinguish these attacks? We should still take the precautions that are available now and hope that one day hacking will cease to exist.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704398804575071103834150536.html

Computer Evolution

The widespread access of data over the internet has become an origin of many ethical issues. These issues range from copyright infringement, invasion of privacy, loss of intellectual property, identity theft, network hijacking, to stolen national secrets. It is no surprise, three decades after the first personal computer, that network security is source of research and development. Unfortunately, when computer networks were being established for the first time, these issues were not thought of as serious as they are now.
In the account of Cliff Stoll, author of “The Cuckoo’s Egg”, such agencies as the F.B.I., the C.I.A., and the N.S.A. didn’t see the severity of network invasion. Cliff Stoll came across a hacker using his networks to infiltrate government computers, and in turn sold national secrets to Russia. Since there was no proof that the hacker had infiltrated top secret computers, no action had been taken. Now even the attempt to break into government computers, containing sensitive data, is means for prosecution. Computer espionage is and will always be a pivotal concern to all governments and businesses.
We would be wise to be aware of many ethical issues pertaining to computers and how they affect those that use computers to exchange data. Wither you are the predator or the prey, the effects of network hacking are the same. Some predators don’t even know they are predators. They think their actions have little or no real change. Even the invasion of privacy attacks trust the users put into their networking communities. As our dependency on computers increases, we need to know that we are safe.
With great blessings comes great responsibility, and computers are a great blessing. We need to fortify computers so we can be confident in their use. We need to be respectful of others property, wither it is tangible or virtual. We need to feel free to use our computers without the pains of malicious attacks. As computers evolve, we need to keep our guard up against impending attacks, and once we have done all that we can do than we are free of regret.