The more we rely on technology, the more power hackers potentially have over us.
Whether their intention is to help or to harm, hackers have the power (like it or not) to change the world.
They may inspire fear, but over the years, we've learned a lot from their snooping and stealing.
Blame Robert Tappan Morris for it all.
Back in 1988, while a graduate student at Cornell University, Morris created the first worm and released it on the Internet. He claimed it was all an experiment gone awry, a test to see how big the then-new Internet was. The worm turned out to be more than a test: it replicated quickly, slowing computers to the point of non-functionality and virtually crippling the Internet. He was eventually fined and sentenced to three years probation.
Since then, he's earned his Ph.D. from Harvard and made millions designing software. Today, he's a computer science professor at MIT. Not bad.
He came a long way from his hacks into the Los Angeles metropolitan bus system and early dabbling in phone fraud. Mitnick went on to become the most wanted computer hacker in the country, known (and wanted) primarily for his hack into Digital Equipment Corporation's network to steal their software.It may have been his first notable break-in, but Mitnick went on to other big targets, including cell phone giants Nokia and Motorola.
Even his eventual arrest was notable: After hacking into fellow hacker Tsutomu Shimomura's computer, Mitnick was tracked down by Shimomura and the FBI in 1995.
Today, Mitnick has served a five-year sentence and come clean, but he continues to profit off his former title, authoring books and working as a security consultant.
Whether their intention is to help or to harm, hackers have the power (like it or not) to change the world.
They may inspire fear, but over the years, we've learned a lot from their snooping and stealing.
No. 1 - Robert Tappan Morris
Even if you know next to nothing about computer viruses, you've probably heard of "worms." That's because news stories about this particularly contagious (and therefore destructive) breed of virus abound.Blame Robert Tappan Morris for it all.
Back in 1988, while a graduate student at Cornell University, Morris created the first worm and released it on the Internet. He claimed it was all an experiment gone awry, a test to see how big the then-new Internet was. The worm turned out to be more than a test: it replicated quickly, slowing computers to the point of non-functionality and virtually crippling the Internet. He was eventually fined and sentenced to three years probation.
Since then, he's earned his Ph.D. from Harvard and made millions designing software. Today, he's a computer science professor at MIT. Not bad.
No. 2 - Kevin Mitnick
Kevin Mitnick started out just wanting a free ride on the bus.He came a long way from his hacks into the Los Angeles metropolitan bus system and early dabbling in phone fraud. Mitnick went on to become the most wanted computer hacker in the country, known (and wanted) primarily for his hack into Digital Equipment Corporation's network to steal their software.It may have been his first notable break-in, but Mitnick went on to other big targets, including cell phone giants Nokia and Motorola.
Even his eventual arrest was notable: After hacking into fellow hacker Tsutomu Shimomura's computer, Mitnick was tracked down by Shimomura and the FBI in 1995.
Today, Mitnick has served a five-year sentence and come clean, but he continues to profit off his former title, authoring books and working as a security consultant.
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