Difference between revisions of "Hackers"
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==History== | ==History== | ||
| − | Hacking has been around in different forms since the development of the first computers. The first hackers appeared at MIT and hacked electric trains and tracks to make them perform differently before moving onto the computing systems being developed on campus. Many early hackers began as phone hackers, "phreaks", before moving onto the realm of computers. As the presence of hackers began to grow, they formed hacking groups, such as the Legion of Doom. In 1986, Congress passed the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, which made it a crime to break into computer systems. Two years later, "the Mentor" (Loyd Blankenship) is arrested and publishes the Hacker Manifesto.The same year, the first worm is distributed through the internet. The self-replicating worm, created by Robert T. Morris Jr. spreads to 6,000 computer networks, including government and university systems. In the early 1990's when Netscape Navigator, which made information on the web much more accessible, begins to take off, hackers quickly move their skills to this new target. The subsequent rise of America On Line led to the release of AOHell, an application that unskilled hackers could used to hack in to AOL, spamming user mailboxes and chat rooms.<ref> | + | Hacking has been around in different forms since the development of the first computers. The first hackers appeared at MIT and hacked electric trains and tracks to make them perform differently before moving onto the computing systems being developed on campus. Many early hackers began as phone hackers, "phreaks", before moving onto the realm of computers. As the presence of hackers began to grow, they formed hacking groups, such as the Legion of Doom. In 1986, Congress passed the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, which made it a crime to break into computer systems. Two years later, "the Mentor" (Loyd Blankenship) is arrested and publishes the Hacker Manifesto.The same year, the first worm is distributed through the internet. The self-replicating worm, created by Robert T. Morris Jr. spreads to 6,000 computer networks, including government and university systems. In the early 1990's when Netscape Navigator, which made information on the web much more accessible, begins to take off, hackers quickly move their skills to this new target. The subsequent rise of America On Line led to the release of AOHell, an application that unskilled hackers could used to hack in to AOL, spamming user mailboxes and chat rooms.<ref>"Timeline: A 40-year history of hacking." CNN Tech. N.p., 19 Nov 2001. Web. 2 Oct 2012.</ref> In 2010, more than 1.5 million hacker-caused defacement were reported, with even more in 2011. 2011 also marked the return to prominance for many hacker groups, including Anonymous, and Lulz Security, who were responsible for Sony, Fox, HBGary, and the FBI. The recent explosion in hackers can likely be attributed to Attack Tool Kits (ATKs) - widely available software that is designed to exploit security holes in websites.<ref>Mark Ward. "A Brief History of Hacking." BBC News Technology. N.p., 9 June 2011. Web. 2 Oct 2012.</ref> |
==Classifications== | ==Classifications== | ||
Revision as of 03:15, 3 October 2012
A hacker is a person who uses computers to gain unauthorized access to data.
History
Hacking has been around in different forms since the development of the first computers. The first hackers appeared at MIT and hacked electric trains and tracks to make them perform differently before moving onto the computing systems being developed on campus. Many early hackers began as phone hackers, "phreaks", before moving onto the realm of computers. As the presence of hackers began to grow, they formed hacking groups, such as the Legion of Doom. In 1986, Congress passed the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, which made it a crime to break into computer systems. Two years later, "the Mentor" (Loyd Blankenship) is arrested and publishes the Hacker Manifesto.The same year, the first worm is distributed through the internet. The self-replicating worm, created by Robert T. Morris Jr. spreads to 6,000 computer networks, including government and university systems. In the early 1990's when Netscape Navigator, which made information on the web much more accessible, begins to take off, hackers quickly move their skills to this new target. The subsequent rise of America On Line led to the release of AOHell, an application that unskilled hackers could used to hack in to AOL, spamming user mailboxes and chat rooms.[1] In 2010, more than 1.5 million hacker-caused defacement were reported, with even more in 2011. 2011 also marked the return to prominance for many hacker groups, including Anonymous, and Lulz Security, who were responsible for Sony, Fox, HBGary, and the FBI. The recent explosion in hackers can likely be attributed to Attack Tool Kits (ATKs) - widely available software that is designed to exploit security holes in websites.[2]
