Hackers and Cyber Attacks
The term hacker has developed into a term that refers to cybercriminals. Even though many hackers hack into systems to commit crimes, some hackers are not partaking in any wrongdoing. Some organizations hire hackers to find holes in their security system as a way of testing for vulnerability. Therefore, not all hackers are criminals (Beall, 2017). This explains why hackers that commit offensive actions do not consider themselves criminals. There is no much risk and threat involved in hacking as they work from home. When hacking an organization, all that the hacker does is code to obtain access to another person’s computer.
Since the risk is minimal, most hackers do not notice the negative effect that they have towards the community when they commit these criminal acts. Recently, a group called Anonymous has been hacking into government institutions and politicians’ devices to reveal details that are not known to the public about them. They do not consider themselves criminals, and they think this is beneficial to society. Not all hackers are seeking monetary gains. Some are merely fighting for social concerns like when Saudi Aramco was attacked. Experts claim that a lot of hackers believe in something.
Initially, hacking was associated with nerdy teenagers (Bailey, 2017). The word “hack” was initially used to mean to correctly solve a problem. Before the 1980s, hackers used to alter computer software and hardware to make them faster. The most dangerous offense they committed around this time was making free phone calls. The sale of home computers that could communicate with each other increased in the 1980s. Children broke into any computer system that they could o explore and brag to their friends. Hackers began hanging out to share tips on how to break into systems. Wargames launched during this period and almost led to world war III when teens hacked into the nuclear weapon facility.
Hackers have evolved correspondingly to technology. Today, hackers have become so smart that they decrypt confidential information and tamper with people’s identities using malicious software. Big organizations have had data breaches revealing private information such as social security numbers and email addresses of many people. Hackers then sell this data to the highest bidder on the black market (Technologies, 2020). An example of a modern-day hack is how Russia coordinated a hack into the largest insurance company in the United States. It affected millions of people. The current form of hacking is hazardous.
References
Bailey, B. (2017). Hackers and Cyber Attacks [Image]. https://youtu.be/_GzE99AmAQU?list=PLS60eIZNGcmlZKoQZuffYE81UHYXVpMBm
Technologies, P. (2020). The History of Computer Hacking and how it Has Evolved Over the Years. PRO OnCall Technology. https://prooncall.com/the-history-of-computer-hacking-and-how-it-has-evolved-over-the-years/.
Why do some hackers not consider themselves to be criminals?. Salmancollegewriting2.blogspot.com. (2018). https://salmancollegewriting2.blogspot.com/2018/03/why-do-some-hackers-not-consider.html.