Mr. Alex's
Internet Workshop:

Hackers!

An Israeli teenager known as the "The Analyzer" managed to break into hundreds of computers owned by the Pentagon earlier this year. Despite harsh words from the US Department of Justice, it is unlikely that Ehud Tenebaum will serve any jail time. On the contrary-his notoriety has even garnered him a job endorsing an Israeli-made computer in a magazine ad.

The Analyzer is the kind of person that most people would call a hacker. Young computer geniuses who get their thrills by cracking their way into computer networks. Stealing bank records, credit card numbers. Wreaking havoc once inside. Vandals and highwaymen of the cyberspace.

Should you be afraid of hackers? After all, if the Pentagon can't keep them out, what chance do you stand of protecting your hard drive and files from prying eyes of the dreaded hacker?

Before I answer that, we need to look at a little history. Originally, calling someone a hacker was the highest compliment one engineer could give another engineer. A hacker was someone who found solutions that were not taught in textbooks. A hacker's solution was often simple and elegant, but always unconventional. Hackers spent long hours tinkering with their projects because it was fun-because finding a better way to do something or a way to do something that couldn't be done before was a source of satisfaction.

America has a long history of hackers, even if the word is relatively new. In the computer industry, we can point to people Steve Wozniak of Apple Computer , and Bill Gates of Microsoft as hackers. But we can also say the men who built the rockets that sent men to the moon were hackers. Robert Goddard was a hacker. The Wright Brothers were hackers. Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell were hackers. And the term "Yankee Ingenuity" suggests whole generations of early hackers .

Today's hackers are working to fight the negative image they say the media has given them. There is a Hacker code of Ethics, although it may be more accurate to say there are many versions of an ethical code floating around out there. To quote one such formalized ethical code from www.hackers.com: "... We want to spread knowledge and information to all who want to learn...information about computers, telephones, the underground, and technology in general. But, we plan to do this and uphold the old school hacker ethics at the same time. We refuse to promote and distribute information on destructive and ignorant things..."

Which brings us back to the original question: Should you be afraid of hackers?

I believe the answer is No. This doesn't mean that a determined hacker-or perhaps I should say computer vandal-could not get into your computer. This means the chances of your being victimized are very small. Here is why:

1. Computer vandals want to show off to their friends their ability to get into high-security areas. There is no challenge in breaking into someone's home computer.
2. Computer vandals want to profit from their efforts. On most people's hard drives, there is nothing of value to a random attacker.
3. Your computer has to be turned on and connected to the Internet in order to be vulnerable to an attack. Even then, you get a different address every time you log on. Unless someone you know is specifically out to get you, it is unlikely someone will find you.

The three reasons above, however, do not hold up as well if you have a business with a computer network. As a business, you might present a challenge to a beginner computer vandal. You might also have information stored on you network that could be worth money to someone else. And you might have a disgruntled employee looking exact revenge on you for some perceived wrongdoing. If you have a business, then securing your network from computer vandals is as important as locking the safe at night.

For more information on hackers, check out the following web sites:

http://www.antionline.com
http://www.happyhacker.org
http://www.hackers.com/