Internet Piracy :: essays research papers fc

He doesnt wear a stocking mask over his face, and he doesnt break a window to adopt into your ho expenditure. He doesnt hold a gun to your head, nor does he ransack your personal possessions. Just the same hes a thief. Although this thief is cardinal youll not only neer see,but you may not even realize right away that hes robbed you. The thief is a computer hacker and he "enters" your home via your computer, accessing personal discipline -- such as credit card numbers which he could then use without your knowledge at least until you get that next credit card statement. RichardBernes, executive program of the FBIs Hi-Techsquad in San Jose, California, calls the Internet "the unlocked window in cyberspace through which thieves crawl" (Erickson 1). There seems to be an unlimited potential for larceny of credit card numbers, bank statements and other financial and personal information transmitted over the Internet.     Its hard to imagine that anyone in todays technologically oriented universe could function without computers. Personal computers are linked to business computers and financial networks, and all are linked together via the Internet or other networks. More than a hundred million electronic messages travel through cyberspace every day, and every piece of information stored in a computer is vulnerable to dishonor (Icove-Seger-VonStorch 1). Yesterdays bank robbers have become todays computer hackers. They can walk away from a computer crime with millions of virtual dollars (in the form of information they can use or sell for an enormous profit). Walking away is precisely what they do. The National Computer Crimes Squad estimates that 85-97 % of the time, theft of information from computers is not even detected (Icove-Seger-VonStorch 1). home(a) computer users are vulnerable, not only for credit card information and login IDs, but also their files, disks, and other computer equipment and data, which are subjec t to attack. Even if this information is not confidential, having to reconstruct what has been destroyed by a hacker can take days (Icove-Seger-VonStorch 1). William Cheswick, a network-security specialist at AT&T Bell Labs, says the home computers that use the Internet are singularly vulnerable to attack. "The Internet is like a vault with a screen door on the back," says Cheswick. "I dont need jackhammers and atom bombs to get in when I can walk in through the door" (Quittner 44). The use of the Internet has become one of the most popular ways to communicate.