March 16, 1999 - 11th Grade
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They are the outlaws of the electronic frontier, known by aliases such as Phiber Optik and Acid Phreak. Roaming at will in the most sophisticated computer systems in the world, they peruse confidential information and help themselves to phone service and credit card numbers, simply because they know how to do it.
What is a hacker, you might be asking. Well, it is just someone who enjoys exploring computer systems. Cracking is when they break into secret areas or damage files.
People that hack simply love playing with computers. They are usually young, broke, and have lots of time to devote to their hobby.
There are many reasons why people hack. Usually itąs for their own amusement or to brag to their friends. However, the most illegal part of hacking, is when they get into unathorized areas and steal information like credit card numbers or when they release viruses, which are programs designed to infect and sometimes destroy files. There are many ways to avoid being hacked. One way is to put firewalls at every critical juncture where the network is exposed to the outside world. Firewalls are gatekeepers made of hardware and software that protect a computer network by shutting out unauthorized people. If the hacker can get around firewalls and to the files, he will find that all of the important files are encrypted, which means all the text is scrambled. The best way to prevent a hacker from getting in, is to hack your systems yourself; this is called debugging. By hacking your own files you can find security holes in the network.
Hacking into computer systems is very illegal and there are many laws against it, like the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and the Electronic Communications and Privacy Act, both passed in 1986. When someone is caught, their equipment is confiscated for evidence and you are usually put in prison for many years and are fined depending on your crime. One such case is with Kevin Mitnick. According to "2600" magazine, the hacker quarterly, Mitnick was arrested in 1995, accused of stealing 20,000 credit card numbers. He has been locked in prison for over three years without a trial and without being accused of a violent or even financial crime. This has made the hacker community furious. There have been many articles written about him and even bumper stickers are sold that say Free Kevin.
Hacking doesnąt only take place in front of a computer. Hackers can also use pay phones to their advantage. This is called phreaking. Phreaking is basically using a device to trick a phone system to make free calls or to have calls charged to a different account. One of the most popular ways to make free phone calls is to use a red box. A red box is an electronic device that produces tones which tell a pay phone that money has been inserted. Each coin is recognized by a different number of beeps. It is called a red box, because the first one that was confiscated was red. Using a red box is highly illegal, but it is impossible to get caught, at least over the phone. If you are caught with a red box on you, you will be takin to a police station and fined, even if they didnąt see you using it!
Hackers will always be the outlaws of the electronic frontier. Some see them as criminals and others see them as people thirsty for knowledge pertaining to the area of technology and the secrets behind it. But whatever you think of them, they are not going away, because as long as technology is around, there will always be someone trying to hack it!
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Photos
+ Red Box