Computer Hacking
English Composition II
Eng112-1002A-10
Final Project
Computer Hacking
May 7, 2010
Computer Hacking
My field of study is Computer Information Security Networking; I chose this field because I enjoy working with computers and creating a safe environment in accessing data. One of the common problems in this field is hacking. Throughout my essay I plan on explaining what motivates hackers, what the definition of hacking is? What effects’ hacking has on society? And the solutions that could help people with hacking. The Oxford English Dictionary defines hacking as "cut or chop roughly; mangle: cut (one 's way)" to its present definition as "gain unauthorized access (to data in a computer)". Banks (1997:11) defines hacking as "something that boring mainframe computer operators did to improve performance and battle boredom." Here banks focus on boredom as the reason of hacking. A more technical definition of hacking according to Digital Guards data base (2001) is "unauthorized use, or attempts to circumvent or bypass the security mechanisms of an information system or network." Darlington (2001) believes hacking is not limited to accessing data or information but also includes an attack on the privacy of all people. Almost all different opinions agree on the illegality of hacking. On the other hand the word hacker is the agent of hack or hacking and it was defined as a person who enjoys accessing files whether for fun, imposing power or the interest related to the accessed files or data according to Taylor (1999). While Marotta (in Taylor, 1993) has a negative view of the hacker as a data lord, a barbarian who takes what he wants. Himanen (2001) defines hacker as any person who performs illegal actions whether they were related to computer or not which means the usage of a device apart from its functionality. Seems hacking according to Himanen is related to any illegal or unauthorized action. Seebach (1999) finds hacker as a
Eng112-1002A-10
Final Project
Computer Hacking
May 7, 2010
Computer Hacking
My field of study is Computer Information Security Networking; I chose this field because I enjoy working with computers and creating a safe environment in accessing data. One of the common problems in this field is hacking. Throughout my essay I plan on explaining what motivates hackers, what the definition of hacking is? What effects’ hacking has on society? And the solutions that could help people with hacking. The Oxford English Dictionary defines hacking as "cut or chop roughly; mangle: cut (one 's way)" to its present definition as "gain unauthorized access (to data in a computer)". Banks (1997:11) defines hacking as "something that boring mainframe computer operators did to improve performance and battle boredom." Here banks focus on boredom as the reason of hacking. A more technical definition of hacking according to Digital Guards data base (2001) is "unauthorized use, or attempts to circumvent or bypass the security mechanisms of an information system or network." Darlington (2001) believes hacking is not limited to accessing data or information but also includes an attack on the privacy of all people. Almost all different opinions agree on the illegality of hacking. On the other hand the word hacker is the agent of hack or hacking and it was defined as a person who enjoys accessing files whether for fun, imposing power or the interest related to the accessed files or data according to Taylor (1999). While Marotta (in Taylor, 1993) has a negative view of the hacker as a data lord, a barbarian who takes what he wants. Himanen (2001) defines hacker as any person who performs illegal actions whether they were related to computer or not which means the usage of a device apart from its functionality. Seems hacking according to Himanen is related to any illegal or unauthorized action. Seebach (1999) finds hacker as a
Bibliography: 1. Banks, Michael A. (1997), Web psychos, stalkers, and pranksters: How to protect yourself online, Arizona (USA), The Coriolis group. 2 3. CNET (2001), FBI "hack" raises global security concerns [online]. Available from: http://news.com.com/FBI+%22hack%22+raises+global+security+concerns/2100-1001_3-256811.html [Accessed 14th December 2004]. 4 5. Darlington, Roger. (2001) Crime on the net [online], United Kingdom, Darlington, Roger. Available from: http://www.rogerdarlington.co.uk/crimeonthenet.html [Accessed 4th December 2004]. 6 7. Furnell, Steven. (2002), Cybercrime: Vandalizing the information society, Boston; London: Addison-Wesley. 8 9. Levy, S. (1984), Hacker: Heroes of the computer revolution, New York: Bantam Doubleday dell. Cited in: Taylor, Paul A. (1999), Hackers: Crime in the digital sublime, London, Routledge. 10 11. McClure, Stuart. Et al. (2003), Hacking exposed: Network security secrets & solutions, Fourth edition, Berkley, California (USA), McGraw-Hill/Osborne. 12 13. Ninemsn (2004), North Korea `has 600 computer hackers ' [online], [national Nine news]. [SCI Tech news]. Available from: http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=19653 [Accessed 10th December 2004]. 14 15. Pipkin, Donald L. (1997), Halting the hacker: A practical guide to computer security, United States of America, Prentice Hall. 16 17. Seebach, Peter. (1999), Care and feeding of your hacker [online], Seebach, Peter. Available from: http://web.demigod.org/~zak/geek/hack.shtml [Accessed 6th December 2004]. 18 21. Sterling, Bruce. (2004), the hacker crackdown: (Law and disorder on the electronic frontier), McLean, Virginia (USA), Indypublish.com. 22 23. Thomas, Douglas and Loader, Brian D (eds.) (2000), Cybercrime: Law enforcement, security and surveillance in the information age, London: Routledge. 24