...The reality, however, is that hackers are a very diverse bunch, a group simultaneously blamed with causing billions of dollars in damages as well as credited with the development of the World Wide Web and the founding of major tech companies. In this article, we test the theory that truth is better than fiction by introducing you to ten of the most famous hackers, both nefarious and heroic, to let you decide for yourself. Black Hat Crackers The Internet abounds with hackers, known as crackers or "black hats," who work to exploit computer systems. They are the ones you've seen on the news being hauled away for cybercrimes. Some of them do it for fun and curiosity, while others are looking for personal gain. In this section we profile five of the most famous and interesting "black hat" hackers. Jonathan James: James gained notoriety when he became the first juvenile to be sent to prison for hacking. He was sentenced at 16 years old. In an anonymous PBS interview, he professes, "I was just looking around, playing around. What was fun for me was a challenge to see what I could pull off." James's major intrusions targeted high-profile organizations. He installed a backdoor into a Defense Threat Reduction Agency server. The DTRA is an agency of the Department of Defense charged with reducing the threat to the U.S. and its allies from nuclear, biological, chemical, conventional and special weapons. The backdoor he created enabled him to view sensitive emails and capture employee...
Words: 1397 - Pages: 6
...William Parshall Mr. Burke June 6, 2015 Information Theft Is information theft in today’s world, using the internet primarily, a pertinent issue? The world grows continually smaller. Each passing day interconnectivity amongst personal computers becomes increasingly normative. These electronic bridges are at the foundation of the networks of networks which comprise the Internet, which was initially a concept developed as a means by which both communication and vast archives of information could be preserved in the event of a nuclear war. The design was simple: a system of information exchange which was indestructible in its redundancy. In other words, Russia would need to vaporize North America entirely to with the Cold War. In the absence of a real war, for years the Internet remained inhabited largely by members of academic and scientific communities who prized and throve upon instant exchange of information. It was these individuals who became the first denizens of cyberspace, a new frontier characterized, like the wild west, by anarchy and governed, similarly, by the good sense of inhabitants. With interest in the Internet as a phenomenon increasing steadily over the past decade, however, it is evident that those now living are witnesses of a bizarre transformation whereby technological experience becomes wholly integral to our daily routine. As scores flock to experience the new online realm, tiny enclaves of similarly-interested individuals coalesce into electronic...
Words: 1062 - Pages: 5
...Kevin David Mitnick (born August 6, 1963) is an American computer security consultant, author and hacker. In 1999, he was convicted of various computer and communications-related crimes. At the time of his arrest, he was the most-wanted computer criminal in the United States.[1] He now runs a security firm named Mitnick Security Consulting, LLC that helps test a company's security strengths and weaknesses, and is the Chief Hacking Officer of security awareness training company KnowBe4. Mitnick is an active advisory board member at Zimperium,[2] a mobile defense firm that develops a mobile intrusion prevention system.[3] Contents 1 Early life 2 Computer hacking 3 Arrest, conviction, and incarceration 4 Controversy 5 Media 6 Pop culture references 6.1 Video games 6.2 Graphic novels 6.3 TV 7 See also 8 References 9 Bibliographies 9.1 Books 9.2 Articles 10 External link Early life Mitnick grew up in Los Angeles and attended James Monroe High School.[4] He was enrolled at Los Angeles Pierce College and USC.[4] For a time, he worked as a receptionist for Stephen S. Wise Temple.[4] Computer hacking At age 15, Mitnick used social engineering to bypass the punch card system used in the Los Angeles bus system. After a friendly bus driver told him where he could buy his own ticket punch, he could ride any bus in the greater LA area using unused transfer slips he found in the trash. Social engineering became his primary method...
Words: 2292 - Pages: 10
...Kevin Mitnick Summary Kevin Mitnick was once wanted computer criminal in the United States, he now owns his own firm and tours around places to talk about hacking. Mitnick hacked numerous of systems computer & phone alike. Born on Los Angeles, California, Kevin grew up fascinated by technology. Through his love for it, he got himself into a lot of illegal activity. He was wanted for hacking into computer & phone systems from corporations (such as Digital Equipment Corporation and Pacific Bell). He also intercepted and stole computer passwords, altered computer networks, and broke into/read private e-mail. After accepting a dare from his fellow classmates (in high school), he stole valuable information from Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC). He was arrested and sentenced to prison for 12 months followed by 3 years of supervised release in 1988. His love for technology only grew from that, in 1995, the F.B.I. arrested him after a 2 ½ year chase for hacking into Pacific Bell (PacBell) and countless computers and phones. He spent 5 years in prison and 1 year in solitary confinement with no interaction with a phone or computer. In 1999, He confessed to one counting of intercepting communication, 2 counts of computer fraud, and 4 counts of wire fraud as part of his plea agreement before the United States District Court for the Central District of California. We should care about this because he showed the world of how valuable our information is and how vulnerable our...
Words: 574 - Pages: 3
...country. In 2001 and 2002 Gary McKinnon hacked into US military computer networks. He Deleted important files in the operating systems in the US army’s district in Washington. Shutting down 2000 computers for 24 hours. He deleted weapons logs and crashed 300 computers for munition’s delivery to the US NAVY. He also broke into NASA networks to search for evidence of UFO cover-ups. In 2009, Albert Gonzalez helped steal about 36 million credit card numbers from TJX ,which cost the company about 160 million Dollars. Literature Review Social engineering is a practice of obtaining confidential information by manipulating users in social communication. In The Art of Deception: Controlling the Human Element of Security by Kevin Mitnick. The Book talks about social engineering and how it is used to gain information in financial, manufacturing, medical, and legal companies to gain access to their networks. I thought this book was important reading for company’s...
Words: 689 - Pages: 3
...Kevin Mitnick – Social Engineering and Computer Hacking Mastermind Shelby Descoteaux Professor Kabay IS 340 A Nov. 22, 2013 Table of Contents Introduction 3 Kevin Mitnick 3 Hackers and Their Motives 3 The Early Years 4 Adolescence 5 Kevin in Trouble 6 Kevin’s Final Visit from the FBI 7 Hacker or Engineer? 8 Impact on Computer Security 8 Conclusion 9 Works Cited 10 Introduction Most people today are aware of the detrimental risk that hackers pose to their computers. They might know about identity theft, viruses, Trojans and worms however what they fail to recognize is how these things are accomplished and if they have actually fallen victim to one of these horrible attacks. But what about attacks with even greater impacts…like someone hacking into the computer system of a car that controls the brakes? Perhaps penetrating the systems that control nuclear power plants? Although it seems unlikely that either of these extremely scary scenarios would ever happen, it is most definitely possible. One researcher for IBM’s Internet Security Systems told the owners of a nuclear power station that he could hack into their system through the Internet. The power station took this as a joke, responding to Scott Lunsford, the IBM researcher, with a laugh in his face saying that it was “impossible”. In response, Scott took up the power plant on their words and proved them wrong. In less than twenty-four hours, Scott’s team had infiltrated the system and in...
Words: 4016 - Pages: 17
...“You could spend a fortune purchasing technology and services...and your network infrastructure could still remain vulnerable to old-fashioned manipulation.” Kevin Mitnick [4] Social engineering is one of the ways hackers get an access to sensitive information, such as passwords, access codes, credit card numbers, etc. Instead of breaking into a computer system, the persuasive hackers trick people into giving up the information on their own. [1] According to the Security and Risk website, social engineering attacks are very costly for businesses. For example, once hackers get the needed log in information, they can then spy on an organization’s activity and transactions. Annually, an organization can lose thousands of dollars on such attacks. New employees are the primary victims that become the prey of hackers via phishing emails and social networking sites. [2] The most common method of social engineering attacks is phishing or spam scams. The victim receives an urgent email where he or she asked to follow a link to verify the account number or any other “important” data. Hackers use well known organizations and banks’ logos and these kinds of emails are very convincing. There are different variations to this method, though. Instead of phony emails, a victim can receive a phony call from an “authority” or an IT specialist that tries to get the sensitive information from a victim. Also, there are different variations to it when hackers pretend to be some...
Words: 508 - Pages: 3
...chapter 2 40 Chapter 2 you. I’ve asked Charlie Moody to come in today to talk about it. He’s waiting to speak with us.” When Charlie joined the meeting Fred said, “Hello, Charlie. As you know, the Board of Directors met today. They received a report on the expenses and lost production from the worm outbreak last month, and they directed us to improve the security of our technology. Gladys says you can help me understand what we need to do about it.” “To start with,” Charlie said, “instead of setting up a computer security solution, we need to develop an information security program. We need a thorough review of our policies and practices, and we need to establish an ongoing risk management program. There are some other things that are part of the process as well, but these would be a good start.” “Sounds expensive,” said Fred. Charlie looked at Gladys, then answered, “Well, there will be some extra expenses for specific controls and software tools, and we may have to slow down our product development projects a bit, but the program will be more of a change in our attitude about security than a spending spree. I don’t have accurate estimates yet, but you can be sure we’ll put cost-benefit worksheets in front of you before we spend any money.” Fred thought about this for a few seconds. “OK. What’s our next step?” Gladys answered, “First, we need to initiate a project plan to develop our new information security program. We’ll use our usual systems development and project...
Words: 24411 - Pages: 98
...------------------------------------------------- Who is the father of the computer? There are hundreds of people who have major contributions to the field of computing. The following sections detail the primary founding fathers of computing, the computer, and the personal computer we all know and use today. Father of computing Charles Babbage was considered to be the father of computing after his invention and concept of the Analytical Engine in 1837. The Analytical Engine contained an Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU), basic flow control, and integrated memory; hailed as the first general-purpose computer concept. Unfortunately, because of funding issues this computer was never built while Charles Babbage was alive. However, in 1910 Henry Babbage, Charles Babbage's youngest son was able to complete a portion of the machine that could perform basic calculations. In 1991, the London Science Museum completed a working version of the Analytical Engine No 2. This version incorporated Babbage's refinements developed during the creation of the Analytical Engine. Although Babbage never completed his invention in his lifetime, his radical ideas and concepts of the computer are what make him the father of computing. Father of the computer There are several people who could be considered as the father of the computer including Alan Turing, John Atanasoff, and John von Neumann. However, for the purpose of this document we're going to be considering Konrad Zuse as the father of the...
Words: 6884 - Pages: 28
...Color profile: Disabled Composite Default screen BaseTech / Principles of Computer Security: CompTIA Security+™ and Beyond / Wm. Arthur Conklin / 619-8 / Chapter 2 2 General Security Concepts “The only real security that a man can have in this world is a reserve of knowledge, experience and ability.” —HENRY FORD In this chapter, you will learn how to ■ Define basic terms associated with computer and information security ■ Identify the basic approaches to computer and information security ■ Distinguish among various methods to implement access controls ■ Describe methods used to verify the identity and authenticity of an individual ■ Describe methods used to conduct social engineering ■ Recognize some of the basic models used to implement security in operating systems 20 P:\010Comp\BaseTech\619-8\ch02.vp Wednesday, November 09, 2011 2:01:20 PM I n Chapter 1, you learned about some of the various threats that we, as security professionals, face on a daily basis. In this chapter, you start exploring the field of computer security. Color profile: Disabled Composite Default screen BaseTech / Principles of Computer Security: CompTIA Security+™ and Beyond / Wm. Arthur Conklin / 619-8 / Chapter 2 ■ Basic Security Terminology The term hacking has been used frequently in the media. A hacker was once considered an individual who understood the technical aspects of computer operating systems...
Words: 16889 - Pages: 68
...ARTICLES A Kind Word for Theory X: Or Why So Many Newfangled Management Techniques Quickly Fail Michael P. Bobic Emmanuel College William Eric Davis Community College Southern Nevada ABSTRACT Forty-three years ago, Douglas McGregor’s The Human Side of Enterprise offered managers a new assumption of management (Theory Y), which would be more effective than what he considered then-current management assumptions (Theory X). While McGregor’s Theory Y model has been widely adopted in management literature as the preferred model, Theory X management still persists in practice. Moreover, many efforts to introduce management initiatives based on Theory Y have failed to reform the workplace or worker attitudes. While most explanations of these failures focus on training, implementation, or sabotage, this article proposes several defects in Theory Y that have contributed to these failures. Theory Y is based upon an incomplete theory of human motivation that erroneously assumes that all people are creative (and want to be creative) in the same way. Important research by Michael Kirton presents a different model of creativity that explains the failure of Theory Y and justifies Theory X as an important managerial theory and strategy. Theory X persists not because of circumstances or the nature of particular jobs, but because different people have personalities that respond to Theory X management better than to Theory Y management. But if the times and circumstances change, [a...
Words: 14544 - Pages: 59
...Management of Information Security Third Edition This page intentionally left blank Management of Information Security Third Edition Michael Whitman, Ph.D., CISM, CISSP Herbert Mattord, M.B.A., CISM, CISSP Kennesaw State University ———————————————————————— Australia • Brazil • Japan • Korea • Mexico • Singapore • Spain • United Kingdom • United States Management of Information Security, Third Edition Michael E. Whitman and Herbert J. Mattord Vice President, Career and Professional Editorial: Dave Garza Executive Editor: Stephen Helba Managing Editor: Marah Bellegarde Product Manager: Natalie Pashoukos Developmental Editor: Lynne Raughley Editorial Assistant: Meghan Orvis Vice President, Career and Professional Marketing: Jennifer McAvey Marketing Director: Deborah S. Yarnell Senior Marketing Manager: Erin Coffin Marketing Coordinator: Shanna Gibbs Production Director: Carolyn Miller Production Manager: Andrew Crouth Senior Content Project Manager: Andrea Majot Senior Art Director: Jack Pendleton Cover illustration: Image copyright 2009. Used under license from Shutterstock.com Production Technology Analyst: Tom Stover © 2010 Course Technology, Cengage Learning ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this work covered by the copyright herein may be reproduced, transmitted, stored, or used in any form or by any means graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including but not limited to photocopying, recording, scanning, digitizing, taping, Web distribution, information...
Words: 229697 - Pages: 919
