The Disadvantages of Hackers
Introduction.
Without a doubt, there are tremendous
benefits to using information technologies, on an individual, organizational,
and global level. However, as we come to rely more deeply on the Internet and
cyberspace to bank, shop, work, play, and communicate we are also increasing
the chances of falling victim to a hacker. Indeed, with some much of our lives
online along with the imperfections of cybersecurity, we are voluntarily making
ourselves more vulnerable to being robbed, bullied and exploited that ever
before.
What is hacking ?
While the term hacker has acquired many
definitions since those earlier days, the legal definition of a hacker is
anyone who deliberately and without authorization gains access to, uses, or
modifies a computer, a computer network or data on a computer or computer
network (Hess, 2011). Despite its notoriety, hacking is a fairly new form of
criminal activity. Originally, before the wide-spread use of the Internet,
hacking was mainly popular among middle and high school students who were
interested in computers or had ability in computer programming (Poulsen, 2011).
Popularly known as “script-kiddies, the most common activities of these early
hackers were playing pranks on each other or using their computer to “phreak”
or make free long distance phone calls (Poulsen, 2011). In short, there weren’t
many victims, and many of the victims tended to be large companies that
suffered minor damages. To be sure, the first computer crime law was not
enacted until the late 1980s (Poulsen, 2011)
Hacking criminals.
Nowadays, some of the most wanted
criminals in the world are hackers. For instance, the FBI is offering a U.S. $
3 million dollar award for information leading the arrest of Russian hacker
Evgeniy Mikhailovich Bogachev (“Cyber’s Most Wanted”). Moreover, hacker
activities have evolved from playing pranks and phreaking to include a broad
range of computer crimes motivated primarily by financial gain. To be sure, in
August 2014, home improvement and office supply retailer Home Depot suffered an
intrusion by hackers that resulted in the theft of over 50 million credit and
debit card numbers. According to computer security expert Brian Krebs, once the
hacker obtained the card numbers, they began selling them on an underground
cybermarket known as Rescator (Krebs, 2014). According to the FBI, hackers and
hacking intrusions have become so common that they pose a legitimate threat to
national security. In response to the growing threat of hackers, in 2012 the
FBI established the FBI Cyber Division with the specific purpose of uncovering
and investigating hackers (“Focusing on Hackers and Intrusions”).
The reason for hacking.
Hacking for profit, however, is not the only reason why hackers pose a threat. Indeed, as mentioned some of the primary goals of the original hacker was protest, dissent and activism. Although, criminally focused hacking has attracted the most attention, hacking as social commentary has always been and continues to be one of the main ideals driving hacker activity (Paget, 2015). These type of hackers are commonly known as hacktivists, or hackers who deliberately and without authorization use computers or computer networks to support their personal activism goals. While hacktivists activities have rarely produced the monetary losses achieved by their criminally inclined hacking colleagues; hacktivists have still caused substantial problems for their victims. Former, National Security Agency (NSA) consultant Edward Snowden is perhaps that most famous hacktivist to date. To expose the activities of the American government that he disagreed with, in May 2013, Snowden leaked an estimated 1.7 million classified document detailing the secret workings of not only the NSA but also British and Australian intelligence services as well (Scherer, 2013). The leak did not produce a substantial financial gain for Snowden; it led to his voluntary exile from the United States. However, if did succeed in achieving his political goal of putting the issue of U.S. and Allied surveillance before the American and global public. Moreover, according to the current director of the NSA, Admiral Michael S. Rogers, Snowden’s leaks have had a tremendous impact on the ability of U.S. oppose terrorist threats (Swarts, 2015).
Hacking for profit, however, is not the only reason why hackers pose a threat. Indeed, as mentioned some of the primary goals of the original hacker was protest, dissent and activism. Although, criminally focused hacking has attracted the most attention, hacking as social commentary has always been and continues to be one of the main ideals driving hacker activity (Paget, 2015). These type of hackers are commonly known as hacktivists, or hackers who deliberately and without authorization use computers or computer networks to support their personal activism goals. While hacktivists activities have rarely produced the monetary losses achieved by their criminally inclined hacking colleagues; hacktivists have still caused substantial problems for their victims. Former, National Security Agency (NSA) consultant Edward Snowden is perhaps that most famous hacktivist to date. To expose the activities of the American government that he disagreed with, in May 2013, Snowden leaked an estimated 1.7 million classified document detailing the secret workings of not only the NSA but also British and Australian intelligence services as well (Scherer, 2013). The leak did not produce a substantial financial gain for Snowden; it led to his voluntary exile from the United States. However, if did succeed in achieving his political goal of putting the issue of U.S. and Allied surveillance before the American and global public. Moreover, according to the current director of the NSA, Admiral Michael S. Rogers, Snowden’s leaks have had a tremendous impact on the ability of U.S. oppose terrorist threats (Swarts, 2015).
Increase the hackers.
The spread of the Internet into almost
every aspect of life is perhaps the one factor that allowed hacking to evolve
from a limited activity of high school age computer geeks into a national
security threat. The popularization of the Internet not only increased the
number of potential victims a hacker could target but also gave hackers a
variety of vectors from which to mount an attack. Indeed, in today’s wired
world your home computer, work computer, cloud storage provider, social media
account or e-mail may provide a potential target for a hacker to attack. The
availability of threat vectors has only become more widespread with the
development of the mobile Internet and the growing popularity of smartphones.
If the Internet signaled the second
generation of hackers, and the mobile Internet led to the third generation;
wearable technology and the Internet of Things (IoT) suggests we are about to see the birth of a
fourth generation of hackers. Wearable technology refers to small networked
devices that have an array of functionalities including the ability to track
one’s activities, collect data such your calories intake, and provide wireless
communication and access to your smartphone or desktop computer. Naturally, the
key functionality of wearable technology is that you can wear it. Accordingly,
wearable devices can potentially obtain substantial amount s of information
about its owners. Security experts, however, warn that not only are wearable
devices attractive to hackers because of the information they may hold but also
because they lack the security protections that are common in computers and
smartphones (Curtis, 2014). IoT refers to new technologies that transform
traditionally “dumb” devices are upgraded with Internet connectivity; your
coffee pot may provide a hacker access to your most private information. . One
of the essential elements for these new devices is that they need continuous
access to the Internet and each other. That access, and they fact that many of
these devices not come installed with effective cybersecurity protections, make
them attractive targets for hackers. If a hacker were able to gain access to even
one of these devices, they have opportunity to launch a hack attack against any
other nearby computers.
Conclusion.
In conclusion, the FBI’s estimation
that hackers pose a substantial threat to businesses and individuals as well as
an increasing threat to national security should not and must not be taken
lightly. To be sure, hacking has evolved from playing simple pranks against the
unsecure computers of a high school classmate or a local telephone company to
complex, sophisticated and persistent attacks against the highly secured the
computers that run the world and the networks that form the backbone of how we
work, study, and live.
References:
Curtis, Sophie.
“Wearable tech how hackers could turn your most private data against you.” The
Telegraph. telegraph.co.uk, 25 Jun. 2014. Web. 24 Apr. 2015.
“Cyber’s
Most Wanted.” Federal Bureau of
Investigation. fbi.gov. Web. 24 Apr. 2015. http://www.fbi.gov/wanted/cyber/evgeniy-mikhailovich-bogachev/view.
Hess, Ken. “What is a hacker?” ZDNet.
zdnet.com. 27 Sep. 2011. Web. 24 Apr. 2015.
Poulsen, Kevin. (2012). Kingpin
How One Hacker Took Over the Billion-Dollar Cybercrime Underground. New York:
Crown Publishers. Print.
Krebs, Brian.
“Banks: Credit Card Breach at Home Depot.” Krebs
on Security. krebsonsecurity.com, 02 Sep 2014. Web. 24 Apr. 2015.
Paget,
Francois. “Hacktivism: Cyberspace has become the new medium for political
voices.” McAfee. mcafee.com, 2012.
Web. 24 Apr. 2015.
Poulsen,
Kevin. (2012). Kingpin How One Hacker
Took Over the Billion-Dollar Cybercrime Underground. New York: Crown
Publishers. Print.
Scherer, Michael. “The Geeks Who Leek.” Time. time.com, 13Jun. 2013. Web. 24 Apr. 2015.
Swarts, Phillip. “Mike Rogers NSA Chief, says Edward Snowden’s
revelations hurt counterterrorism capabilities.” The Washington Times. washingtontimes.com, 23 Feb. 2015. Web. 24
Apr. 2015.
