My Views on Hacking
Your Name Here DeVry University

Why I Agree With the Hacker Mentality

“I am a Hacker, enter my world.... And then it happened... a door opened to a world... rushing through the phone line like heroin through an addict's veins…… Yes, I am a criminal. My crime is that of curiosity,” the Mentor, A.K.A. Loyd Blankenship wrote in his Manifesto back in 1986. From all the information I have read over the Internet, hackers are what made computers and the Internet what both are today.
Over the years, the actual word “hacker” has changed to fit the times. Hackers, according to thefreedictionary.com, are people who are proficient at using or programming a computer; a computer buff or who use programming skills to gain illegal access to a computer network or file. I find that is the most accurate definition for today’s attitude.
The Internet and computers are tools that when joined create a lethal combination. Especially for someone who is a hacker. Take Kevin Poulsen for example. He did some bad things like hacked into the FBI’s computer network, took over a radio station’s phone line to make sure he and some friends were the only winners, and even made the TV show Unsolved Mysteries phone lines go dead when their phone number was displayed. He was caught and held for five years without bail. The FBI called him “The Hannibal Lecter of Computer Crime.” Once all the legalities were over, he was released with time served but barred from using a computer for three years. He is now a journalist for Wired Magazine, writing articles on computer security. Of course, not all stories end well. David L. Smith was sentenced to jail for causing over 80 million dollars’ worth of damage by the notorious Melissa worm virus. Robert Tappan Morris has a disc with his source code for the Morris Worm on display at the Boston Museum of Science. He was the first person to be tried under the then new Computer Fraud and Abuse Act; three years’ probation, 4000 hours of community service, and a really hefty fine. (Top 10 Most Famous Hackers, The Telegraph site, UK)
The Internet has forever been altered by hackers. The tendency to do “Black Hat” bad has created regulations on who, what, when, and where people can access this flow of information. The Internet Society, http://www.internetsociety.org, according to Lynn St. Amour, President and CEO, says "The Internet Society is here to ensure that the Internet continues to develop as an open platform; one that serves the economic, social, and educational needs of individuals throughout the world." We all understand that there have to be rules governing this incredible world of information that is at our fingertips.
Every day I see an article regarding piracy of software and music. Piracy or copyright infringement is where you offer copyright protected items for download, you download copyrighted items from someone else or from a download site whether you pay for it or not, or where you make a copy of a cd, which you bought, for your friends. Piracy is downloading software that was “cracked or hacked” by someone. It is also where you download a movie that has been cammed, camera recorded from the theater, or ripped from blue-ray or dvd. It is one thing to purchase the movie and make a backup copy, but letting someone else have a copy or download it from you or a file sharing site is another. RIAA, the Recording Industry Association of America, says that a study done by The Institute for Policy Innovation has found that there is an annual loss of 12.5 billion dollars and more than 70,000 jobs have been lost to music piracy alone. The government also loses out on taxes, and estimated minimum of 422 million a year. (2007, Stephen E. Siwek, ipi.org)
Because of hackers, we also have identity theft and fraud. I have gotten notification three times that my information was accessed improperly. I was in the military, Army. The Department of Defense got hacked and lots of files