Chapter 5: Crime part 1

Tom Burtless Class time:11 – 11:50

KEEP THIS TO 1-3 – PAGES LONG (excluding reference page)

Author: Sara Baase

Date of Publication: 2008

Book: A Gift of Fire

Sections read: 5.1 – 5.2

1. (Knowledge)Tell three interesting elements of this chapter:

a. The average loss from a computer fraud is more than $100,000.

b. The term cracker came out of the 1960’s as describing someone who would break into systems without authorization.

c. Two boys, aged 16 and 17 carried out the most organized and systematic attack the Pentagon has seen to date in 1998.

2. (Comprehension) Summarize what is being discussed within this chapter?

Within section 5.1 and 5.2, Baase is discussing hacking. In 5.1 Baase talks about the definition of hacking and gives a brief introduction. Secton 5.2 builds off of this introduction, going into more of the aspects of hacking. Baase then goes into how hacking has been perceived and used over the years, discussing it as being a fun activity to turning into a way for people to steal and deface many websites all over the world. Baase also discusses laws in relation to hacking and Hacktivism.

3. (Application)Name a specific example or NEW solution for this type of problem/similar situation in society or that you have experienced – be specific and EXPLAIN?

A solution  would be to hire on hackers (in either government or business positions) that can easily bypass certain security systems. Hiring someone who knows how to infiltrate a system can rebuild it or help strengthen its weaknesses. A TED video goes into this a bit more, along with the profiling of hackers (the link to the video: http://www.ted.com/talks/misha_glenny_hire_the_hackers.html).  While Baase says that this can be determined as rewarding hackers, it can be seen as a potential asset to companies and to helping hackers transform their work into good.

4. (Analysis)Address ANY that apply. How can you compare one of the situations in this chapter to something that does not relate to computers, technology, or the Internet? Be sure to reference the chapter and your solution. What ideas NEW can you add to the issue that is being presented within the reading? Try to connect what you have by reading this article and how it applies to the stages in Bloom's taxonomy.

For the situation described at the start of the chapter, online criminals (who steal credit card information) on average can gain $100,000 from computer fraud (p. 253, Baase 2008). Baase also says that a robber who enters a bank will usually make $2,500 to $5,000 dollars on average. This shows the drastic difference in a heist used without technology versus a heist used with technology. Theft at gun point or other in person criminal acts can be directly seen. Acts of stealing credit card and other information may not be seen right away, and are much harder to track back to the source.

5. (Synthesis) Address all that apply. Do you agree with what is being said within the article (Why/Why not? Back up with FACTS)? What new conclusions can you draw about this (or other topics) after reading this material?

I believe some hacking, such as the case of Anonymous, can be justified. I believe in their cause. However, hacking for purely financial gain is something that I do disagree with, as Baase describes it in the book. Stealing credit cards and bank account information has no justification other than showing the intelligence of some people in being able to bypass security systems. I do relate my opinion on this to what I stated for number 3 in that some of these hackers are very intelligent and should be hired by the government or businesses instead of being thrown in jail. 

6. (Evaluation) Address all that apply. Judge whether or not this topic is relevant in today’s society? Evaluate why you are viewing the topic in this manner based on your experiences. What ethical evaluations (see Chap1-1.4 for exp of Ethics) or decisions were made/can be assumed from this chapter? What new ideas will you make after reading this chapter? 

This topic has a lot of relevance in today’s society. With a group like Anonymous garnering much popularity, the topic of hacking is becoming a bigger discussion piece. I view it as being relevant because I believe in what Anonymous is fighting for. I believe in hacking for the sake of political change. However, there are many ethical questions that go along with hacking. For the situation of Anonymous, when do you decide you’ve gone too far? When does a political or hacktivism turn into complete Internet anarchy? Is it right for our government to not try and gain information through hiring these hackers? After reading this chapter, I’ve learned how much hacking can effect and how much financial loss it really causes. The fact that a 15 year old caused 1.7 billion dollars’ worth of damage is staggering (p.260 Baase, 2008). The only thing more staggering than this is the fact that he obtained scripts to do so that are widely available on the Internet. To be honest, a consistent thought I had while reading this chapter was if I could possibly hack a security system. How easy is it to perform these tasks? A lot of the examples that Baase list are of teenagers performing this extremely large hacks. How easy is it to access these scripts?