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Ben Trotter

Mrs. Fusca
Pd. 6
Research Project
Terrorism in Hacking
Being involved in big business or small business must be approached with great caution.
You must insure that your computers are extremely secure. If you do not do this, you may fall
victim to the gut-wrenching crime known as hacking. Hacking is becoming a notorious industry,
not only in the United States but throughout the world. However, it is growing rapidly in the
United States. Also, I do not believe the United States is making enough of an effort to eradicate
the problem. Some hackers have secret government information which could prove to be very
dangerous if the government does not do anything. Many of these hackers also have the ability to
hack into some of the largest corporations in the world. They are able to control things in these
corporations such as: internet servers, security systems, personal information, and possibly
embezzle their money. Hackers are becoming dangerous terrorists because the government is
doing nothing to stop them, they have secret government information, and they have the ability
to hack into major corporations.

Hackers are capable of obtaining very valuable information that may become detrimental
to the United States. However, the government is doing nothing to slow or stop these criminals.
It is so obvious that the government knows about these large groups of hackers, yet they are
doing nothing. It is believed the government has technology far greater than any technology the
average American citizen has ever seen or laid their hands on. But why hasn't the government
used any of that technology to eradicate the hacking industry. I believe one reason is they do not
realize the dangers of the circumstance they are in. If the hackers choose to take their actions a

step further, the United States government could be in grave danger. They could possibly solicit
some extremely valuable information without the government even having any idea of what is
going on around them. If the government chooses to take this path, they will fall victim to the
hackers and it will become a problem the entire country will have to deal with. If the government
wants to avoid these problems, they must act now! The government must stop these terrorists if
they want to maintain peace in our country.
On the contrary, maybe the government really does not have the technology needed to put
an end to the terrorist's fun. It has never actually been shown to the world, so there is no way to
confirm that this advanced technology even exists. Even it does exist, some believe if the
government used it to stop hackers from attacking them it would be a waste of their technology.
They believe the government should keep their advancements a secret and by using it to stop the
hackers they would be displaying it to the world. This would show the world what the
government really has and may upset a great deal of people. Many people would be upset
because they do not like the fact that the government is keeping such great secrets from the
people that are the sole reason for the government's existence. If the citizens of America see how
easily the government could eradicate these cyber-terrorists, they may start to question them.
They may say things such as "Why didn't they do that earlier?, What else can the government use
that technology for?, or What else is the government keeping away from us?". This would raise
tension in the country and may cause an uproar too grand to silence. However, some believe the
government really does not know about what is going on around them in the cyber world. The
hackers are supposed to work in secret and with being recognized so maybe they really are doing
a great job of it. They are able to hack into other companies without them knowing so why not
the government? It is just another big business isn't it?

Hackers are also capable of infiltrating major corporations around the world. They are
able to control the company's internet servers, security systems, computers, and in some cases
bank accounts. These hackers can get into the previously mentioned things whenever they feel
like it. This is dangerous because they steal small amounts of money periodically and the
company will not realize until it is too late or they may never notice at all. Recently, a group of
hackers began to take one penny out of every transaction from ATM machines. Also, a group of
hackers constantly shut down internet servers of companies such as Microsoft and Sony. These
hackers cost them huge amounts of money because if people are unable to use their services then
they are making no money at all. This hurts these companies and may also cause people to stop
using them completely. Soon hackers will be even more threating, according to some, enemy
cyber combatants are developing cyber weapons that could shut down our electrical grid
(causing blackouts of indefinite duration) or destroy the electronic records and processes on
which our financial systems depend. (Cliff, May) However, these hackers believe they are doing
a good thing. They think this because they say if they are able to hack into them so quickly then,
more dangerous hackers definitely will be able to. They think these corporations should pay
more attention to increasing their internet security if they want to stay successful.
Some may agree with the hackers when it comes to companies weak security, they will
argue that these companies have weak security systems and should work on improving them.
With the constant advancement of technology, hackers will become increasingly dangerous and
will be able to do much worse things to these companies than shutting down their servers. These
companies will soon not even be able to access basic information and it will become impossible
for them to function. As it stands today, companies overlook hackers and believe that their
security systems are good enough. These hackers help disprove these claims by many companies.

It shows them the reality of the situation if they do not take hacking more seriously. Soon,
hackers will be able to easily take out a companys security systems, cameras, etc. This will
allow robberies and other major crimes to easily be done successfully. However, if these
corporations see hackers as terrorists and take them more seriously, they will work to improve
their security and make it impossible for the hackers to affect them in any way. This must happen
soon if many major corporations would like to remain relevant.
Hackers have also be able to obtain extremely confidential information that only the
highest of government officials should know of. This is extremely dangerous because if this
information is released to the public it could cause major problems throughout the country. Some
if these documents may contain controversial information that the government did not release for
a reason. Some people may see this and begin to question certain things about the government.
They may question things such as the loyalty of the government to its people, or what the
government is doing to make the country a better place. In some case, this information has been
released on the internet. A group known as Wikileaks hacked into government databases and
stole information. They then began to release this information on their website. Luckily, this
website was identified and taken down before any information causing too much controversy
was released. After this, experts questioned the government with things such as, Second, after the
first WikiLeaks document dump back in July [2010], why did a computer worm or virus not find
its way into WikiLeak servers and destroy them? Yes, that would have caused an uproar in some
quarters. So what? Government spokesmen would do the one thing they know how to do: deny
complicity or simply refuse comment. (May, Cliff)To avoid things like these to happen, we as a
society must work to prevent them. First, we must attempt to tighten nation-wide security so
nobody is at risk of being hacked. Secondly, we must bring down these terrorists so they are not

able to steal this information or make advancements in hacking. Finally, we must not have this
controversial information in the first place. If the government cannot be honest with its people it
should not be in control of the country.
Because hacking is becoming so dangerous, we must work to end it completely. They are
able to obtain secret government information, hack into the most prestigious corporations
throughout the country, and the government is doing hardly anything to stop them. Even if the
government does not know about theses hacks into their databases or these hacks are trying to
help major corporations, hacking is a dangerous field and must be stopped. We must treat
hackers as terrorists because they do cause terror. They cause terror in the government and
companies because they do not know what is happen and become frightened from it all. If
nothing is done, hackers will only become stronger and it will be too late for everyone to realize
how dangerous these terrorists are. They will only become stronger and that should be terrifying
to many. New entrepreneurs must take hacking into account when starting a business and must
realize how dangerous it will be if they do not do this. Cliff May states, "America's cyber
warriors have not yet mastered their trade."(May, Cliff) Hackers must be treated as terrorists
because they are terrorists! Finally, if our nation does not treat hackers as terrorist, they will
become too strong and skilled for anyone to do anything about them.

Work Cited
Ball, James. "Hacktivists Fight for Civil Liberties and Free Expression." Hacking and Hackers. Ed. Margaret

Haerens and Lynn M. Zott. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2014. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from

"Hacktivists in the Frontline Battle for the Internet." Guardian 20 Apr. 2012. Opposing Viewpoints in

Context. Web. 13 Feb. 2015.

Elmore, Phil. "Hacktivist Collectives Are Terrorists." Hacking and Hackers. Ed. Margaret Haerens and Lynn

M. Zott. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2014. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "Julian Assange the

Terrorist." WorldNetDaily.com. 2010. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 13 Feb. 2015

May, Cliff. "The WikiLeaks Scandal Reveals the US Government Lacks the Will to Deal with

Cyberthreats."Hacking and Hackers. Ed. Margaret Haerens and Lynn M. Zott. Detroit: Greenhaven

Press, 2014. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "Cyber Threats: US Response to WikiLeaks Surprisingly

Roberts, Alasdair. "The WikiLeaks Scandal Reveals the Limitations of the Public's Desire for
Transparency."Hacking and Hackers. Ed. Margaret Haerens and Lynn M. Zott. Detroit: Greenhaven
Press, 2014. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "The WikiLeaks Illusion." Wilson Quarterly (Summer 2010).
Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 24 Feb. 2015.
Rosenzweig, Paul. "The United States Needs to Develop a Smart and Effective Counterinsurgency Strategy for
Cyberspace." Hacking and Hackers. Ed. Margaret Haerens and Lynn M. Zott. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2014.
Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "Lessons of WikiLeaks: The US Needs a Counterinsurgency Strategy for
Cyberspace." 2011. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 24 Feb. 2015.

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