Computer crimes are on the rise 1 in 10 Americans experience some form of a ma

licious attack on their computer system. If you pay attention to the rest of th
is speech you will understand how a Hackers mind works and how to defend yoursel
f from them. In this speech I will tell you why and how people break into compu
ters, what sorts of trouble they cause, and what kind of punishment lie ahead fo
r them if caught.
Hackers and Crackers break into computer systems for any of a wide varie
ty of reasons. Many groups break into computers for capital gain while still ot
hers do it as a means to pass time at work or at school. For most it's a thrill
to figure out how to break into a computer. Most people never have any intenti
on of causing harm. I believe that for the vast majority of people it's merely
the thrill of the "hunt" at pushes them to such great lengths. Many employees t
hat work in large corporations feel that they don't get paid as much as they sho
uld. Therefore if they have high security clearance they are able to capitalize
from that by selling the data they have access to on the black-market. Whether
it be Ford Motor companies plan for the 1999 F-150 or spec sheets for the milita
ry's new bomber it happens everyday. Too by left is a drawing that illustrates
the method that most Hackers use to take over your computer. Ever since the dia
l-up connection was invented anyone with a modem had the ability to wreck any on
e of thousands of computers.
One of the most talked about forms of computer crime is computer viruse
s. A computer virus is a small but highly destructive program written by an uns
crupulous computer Hacker. Back in 1984 a 17 year old computer Hacker single ha
ndedly brought down four hundred thousand computers in a matter of hours. Too
my left is a graph depicting the # of computer crimes comited from 1988 till now
. Some Hackers create a program called a worm. A worm is a piece of malicious
software and is part of the virus family. People write worms to transfer money
from bank accounts into their own personal checking account. Another way that H
ackers cause trouble is by altering the telephone switching networks at MCI, AT&
T, and Sprint. By doing this they are able to listen to any conversation they
choose. Often-times they will listen in on the Police and FBI communicating wit
h each-other. This allows them to move to a new location before they are found.
Some Hackers use their knowledge of the telephone system to turn their enemies
home telephone into a virtual pay-phone that asks for quarters whenever you tak
e the phone off the hook.
A person to commits a computer crime in caught will very likely face a s
ubstantial punishment. Often these types of criminals are never caught unless t
hey really screw up. The most wanted Hacker Kevin Mitinick was tracked down and
arrested after he broke into a computer that belonged to a Japanese security pr
ofessional. After this man noticed that someone had gotten into his computer he
dedicated the rest of his life to tracking down this one man. Kevin was able
to say one step ahead of police for some time but the fatal mistake that he made
was leaving a voice-mail message on a computer bragging about the fact that he
thought he was unstoppable. When he was arrested he faced a 250,000 dollar fine,
900 hours community service, and a 10 year jail sentence. Many schools and sm
all businesses still don't have a clue about how to deal with computer crimes an
d the like whenever they happen to strike.
In conclusion hopefully you now know a little more about computer crime
s and the people who commit them. Although most computer crimes are never accou
nted for the ones that are, are almost always prosecuted to the fullest extent u
nder the law.