Hackers1. IntroductionThe incredibly fast development of the Internet has brought many benefits both to consumers and businesses. However, it has also provided criminals or misguided individuals with great opportunities for crime or 'mischief'. The Internet is not only used by innocent members of the public, but also by fraudulent traders, software pirates, hackers and con-artists, to name but a few.You have probably heard of hackers who nearly started !orld !ar III "or was that the film !ar#ames$% or others who gave themselves massive pay rises. &r how about the ''ove (ug' virus that crippled many multinational companies' e-mail systems$ These are )ust some of the problems that networked computers can bring*This mini website concentrates on hacking. To find out more, use the links on the left to navigate through the pages.2. What is a hacker?+ hacker is a person who breaks codes and passwords to gain unauthorised entry to computer systems. More>Hackers can do an enormous amount of damage if they break into a computer system.,or some people, the challenge of breaking the codes is irresistible and so precautions have to be taken.-tand-alone computers are usually safe as there is no connection for the hackers to break into. .omputers which form part of networks or those with e/ternal links, such as attached modems, are in danger from hackers.0any hackers often don't intend to cause damage or steal data, they )ust en)oy the challenge of breaking into a system. However, in some instances the hacker's purpose could be to commit fraud, to steal valuable data or to damage or delete the data in order toharm the company. It might be hard to believe, but most hacking is carried out by employees with a grudge or those who want to 'make a 1uick buck'.They have insider knowledge of passwords and 2ser I3s which makes it easy for them. 4ote on the word hacker5,or at least 67 years this description has been criticised by the 'true' hacker, who feels they should be known as a 'cracker'3. Data Theft3ata is often the most valuable resource any business has.The cost of creating data again from scratch can far outweigh the cost of any hardware or programs lost. 'oss of data from hacking can have various conse1uences.It can affect a businessIt can affect personal dataIt may compromise data privacy4. Physically protecting systes(usinesses can use a range of physical methods to protect their systems and data.-ome of these include5- 8eeping important computers such as servers or mainframes in locked rooms- 9osting security guards- -ecurity locks, smart cards- 8eeping sensitive data on stand-alone machines instead of networks- 2sing alarm systems and video cameras!. "sing soft#are to protect systes+ business can also use software to help protect their systems.-ome of these methods include5- 3ata encryption - data is 'scrambled' before being transmitted through a network. &nly the authorised recipient has the 'key'. - ,irewalls - software to block access from outside "and to prevent data being sent out in some cases%- +ctivity or +udit logs - to track who has been doing what on the system- 2ser I3s and 9asswords- +ccess rights$. %egislationHacking, computer fraud and computer viruses are all relatively newcrimes that established :nglish laws were not designed to deal with. ,or e/ample, under e/isting laws a hacker could only be prosecuted for the theft of electricity.To deal with these new crimes, a law was introduced in 1&&' called (The )oputer *isuse +ct(2nder this law, the following offences could be dealt with51.Hacking - unauthorised access to any program or data held in a computer. 9enalty is a ma/imum fine of ;6777 and a si/ month prison sentence.2..omputer fraud and blackmail. 9enalty is an unlimited fine and a ma/imum five year prison sentence.3.