gone phishing
Wikipedia cites one Bob Thomas as the world’s first hacker, who in 1971, whilst working on the prototype for the internet, Arpanet, released an experimental programme onto the network. Replicating itself onto each and every connected machine the ‘Creeper’ programme baited the reader with “I’m the creeper, catch me if you can!” Someone very soon did and ‘The Reaper’ chased and deleted it. Aha, an idea was born and Bob Thomas, you have sooo much to answer for!
Unquestionably, hacking is getting more and more serious, more prevalent and more conniving. Analysts agree that there are two types of international organisations: those that know they’ve been penetrated and comprised, and those that don’t yet know they’ve been penetrated and compromised! You name it, bank, finance house, payment settlement, credit card, airline, government institution, health service, games, church, travel, manufacturing, all have been hacked. The hacked theft of 77 million pieces of personal data from Sony earlier this year is only the tip of the iceberg.
Also, the traditional image of the bedroom-based ‘war games’ teenager is no longer the case. McAfee, the largest security company recently highlighted that one country has systematically hacked into most major companies and government institutions worldwide: China! Throw organised crime and industrial espionage into the mix and you can begin to appreciate that this is seen as a threat to national security, equal only to terrorism.
Most hacking is still after your wonga. Through the use of malware (malicious software), Trojans (more clever pieces of software designed as something of value), screen-scrapers, keystroke-loggers and phishers (usually from a recently dethroned Nigerian prince!) the hacker wants your personal data, for which there’s a huge black market. In 2008, hackers (thieves!) spent over £5m in under 12 hours using personal data stolen from RBS. Last year saw an American fraudster, Albert Gonzales, banged up for 20 years for thieving the details of 130 million credit cards. Ouch. Keep it safe, keep it secure. And do invest in some proper security software.
