research paper

Evan Kass
Applied Tech
May 12, 2005
2nd Hour
Research Paper
For my research paper I decided to write about hackers. I started hearing about hackers after my brother started teaching me about computers. I remember we got our 1st computer about 7 or 8 years ago. My brother was always fascinated by the idea of hacking. I had heard of the word hacking and I knew it had to with computers but I didn’t understand what they did. I saw the movie hackers and got an idea of what they are capable of doing. I remember the 1st time we got a virus on our computer. I thought it was the coolest thing ever. It was right after the Matrix came out. My mother and I were looking for information on the computer when all of a sudden the computer screen went black. The green letters flashed up on to the screen like it did in the movie. I remember the screen saying F*** You all across the screen. Then are disk drive kept opening and closing on its own. The computer wouldn’t turn off so we had to pull the plug on it. I remember my mom being very startled by what was going on. I recall myself laughing and asking myself how the hell did someone do that. I believe that it was sparked my interest in hacking. When it came time to write this paper I knew that hacking was a good idea since it is for a technology class. I surfed the net for information on hackers and hacking. I found a website that said hacking is anyone who tries breaching computer security. Then it said that this is a common misunderstanding and that those people should really be called crackers. A hacker is any computer expert who spends enormous amounts of time trying to breach the security of networks, web servers and email servers. It is also said that the majority of hackers do it for fun and it is not intended to affect individuals. I thought that it would be cool to talk about some of the famous hackers and what they did.
Vladimir Levin was a hacker who was arrested in 1995. It was Levin who was responsible for Citibank’s computers to give out 10 million dollars. In the early 1970’s there was a man named John Draper. He was in charge of making a long-distance call for free by blowing a precise tone into a telephone that tells the phone system to open a line. Draper discovered the whistle as a give-away in a box of children's cereal. Draper, who later earns the handle "Captain Crunch," is arrested repeatedly for phone tampering throughout the 1970s. In the early 1990s AT&T long-distance service crashes on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, law enforcement starts a national crackdown on hackers. The feds nab St. Louis' "Knight Lightning" and in New York grab Masters of Deception trio "Phiber Optik," " Acid Phreak" and "Scorpion." Fellow hacker "Eric Bloodaxe" is picked up in Austin, Texas. Also in the early 1990’s A 17-month search ends in the capture of hacker Kevin Lee Poulsen ("Dark Dante"), who is indicted for stealing military documents.