A Major Forms of Computer Crime Computer crimes are on the rise 1 in 10 Americans experience some form of a malicious attack on their computer system. If you pay attention to the rest of this speech you will understand how a Hackers mind works and how to defend yourself from them. In this speech I will tell you why and how people break into computers, what sorts of trouble they cause, and what kind of punishment lie ahead for them if caught. Hackers and Crackers break into computer systems for any of a wide variety of reasons. Many groups break into computers for capital gain while still others do it as a means to pass time at work or at school. For most it's a thrill to figure out how to break into a computer. Most people never have any intention of causing harm. I believe that for the vast majority of people it's merely the thrill of the "hunt" at pushes them to such great lengths. Many employees that work in large corporations feel that they don't get paid as much as they should. Therefore if they have high security clearance they are able to capitalize from that by selling the data they have access to on the black-market.
Whether it be Ford Motor companies plan for the 1999 F-150 or spec sheets for the military's new bomber it happens everyday.
Too by left is a drawing that illustrates the method that most Hackers use to take over your computer. Ever since the dial-up connection was invented anyone with a modem had the ability to wreck any one of thousands of computers. One of the most talked about forms of computer crime is computer viruses.
A computer virus is a small but highly destructive program written by an unscrupulous computer Hacker. Back in 1984 a 17 year old computer Hacker single handedly brought down four hundred thousand computers in a matter of hours. Too my left is a graph depicting the # of computer crimes committed from 1988 till now. Some Hackers create a program called a worm. A worm is a piece of malicious software and is part of the virus family. People write worms to transfer money from bank accounts into their own personal checking account.
Another way that Hackers cause trouble is by altering the telephone switching networks at MCI, AT&T, and Sprint. By doing this they are able to listen to any conversation they choose. Often-times they will listen in on the Police and
FBI communicating with each-other. This allows them to move to a new location before they are found. Some Hackers use their knowledge of the telephone system to turn their enemies home telephone into a virtual pay-phone that asks for quarters whenever you take the phone off the hook. A person to commits a computer crime in caught will very likely face a substantial punishment. Often these types of criminals are never caught unless they really screw up. The most wanted Hacker Kevin Mitinick was tracked down and arrested after he broke into a computer that belonged to a Japanese security professional. After this man noticed that someone had gotten into his computer he dedicated the rest of his life to tracking down this one man. Kevin was able to say one step ahead of police for some time but the fatal mistake that he made was leaving a voice-mail message on a computer bragging about the fact that he thought he was unstoppable. When he was arrested he faced a 250,000 dollar fine, 900 hours community service, and a 10 year jail sentence. Many schools and small businesses still don't have a clue about how to deal with computer crimes and the like whenever they happen to strike. In conclusion hopefully you now know a little more about computer crimes and the people who commit them. Although most computer crimes are never accounted for the ones that are, are almost always prosecuted to the fullest extent under the law.