(MSPAlliance) - Wednesday, May 3, 2006 - In the technology age, the hacker is the equivalent of the stagecoach robber of yesteryear. Hackers are likely to maintain their mysterious luster in an environment of lax law enforcement, better and faster communications methods and public curiosity. The term hacker evokes the image of someone who breaks into computer system for nefarious purposes, but some hackers are legitimately concerned with the security of a single system or the Internet as a whole.
For the most part, though, "hackers" are the Internet bad guys that crack authentication and encryption security to steal data, commit fraud, wreck Web sites and impose fear on people and business alike. There is no familiar profile of the hacker; known hackers range from suit-and-tie businessmen to flannel-shirt wearing cowboys. What is important is the motivation of the hacker, and that seems to have shifted from the ego-driven quest to outsmart security barriers to financial gain.
Hackers do network with each other, so it comes as no surprise that organized crime networks commit some of the more sophisticated breaches, often operating out of Eastern Europe and other locales with lax Internet laws. Companies have backed away from hiring hackers, and hacking has become more widespread as more people learn to navigate computer systems. Companies should beware of insider threats just as much as they protect networks from hacker attacks.
