We live in a world where people wants fast rewards and an easy way of doing things. It is encouraged by search engines that offer instant solutions for every keyword. In the age of the internet, people can find easy ways of solving both big and small problems. A popular term for this is hacking. Hacking is a word that has many definitions. It can be helpful or harmless. For example, there are a few harmless life-hacks that work great. Punching a nail into a wall and hanging keys on it to keep from losing them is a cool life-hack. It helps a person stay organized. Another way of hacking the problem of losing things is to use Velcro strips on the remote control and the coffee table. The remote control can stick to the table and it will never get lost around the house. What if hacking becomes an extreme, illegal habit with the use of a computer? In this case, it would be defined as using “one’s skill in computer programming to gain illegal or unauthorized access to a file or network.” (“Hack – Definition of Hack by The Free Dictionary”) This type of hacking is extremely harmful. One way is to hack into someone’s phone or tablet. A second way is the hack into someone’s car. A third way is to hack into computers. These three main types of hacking that should be banned all over the world.
Hacking into someone’s cell phone is easy. There are several applications that can downloaded and installed into targeted phone. One example is called Copy9. The “application will extract data from the device on a regular basis.” (Copy9.com) The problem with this hack is that the person who owns the phone might not be aware that their activities are being monitored and shared with another person. The website also promises to track locations, monitor cheating spouses, and monitor text messages. This is a violation of the cell phone owner’s privacy. People often store usernames and passwords into their phone. Their private information could be used by the person spying on them to steal identity or make unlawful purchases. The service provided at this website should never be allowed.
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"Hacking Should Be Banned".
Imagine driving down the road and your car would not stop. It keeps going even after pressing the breaks. Imagine if the car suddenly stops in the middle of the road even if there is plenty of gas and has no engine trouble. Today it is possible to hack into the computer system that operates a car and change the way it works. This is the scariest thing that has ever come around. In 2015, Andy Greenberg published an article on Wired.com. In the article, he explained how two men named, Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek could hack into his Jeep Cherokee. They brought his car to a slow drag, blasted his radio and air conditioning and turned on his windshield wipers remotely from a computer. They used a software that allows the hackers to “send commands through the Jeep’s entertainment system to its dashboard function.” (Greenberg) The transmission, steering column and brakes were all at risk. An accident could have happened. Fortunately, this was all done as a scientific research effort and it involved many different automobiles. They wanted to raise awareness for automakers so that they will create more security for car buyers. This type of hacking ability can easily get into the hands of evil people. It can cause even more terrible car crashes than what happens with people texting or drinking alcohol. Because of the bad things that can happen, the government should ban all hackers. (Greenberg) One website shows a video that explains a simple way to control someone’s car remotely. It explains that all cars are like computers with wheels. Computer chips that work in cars can be purchased over the internet. After installing the chip into a person’s car computer, the chips can communicate with a hacker’s computer and let the hacker control functions in the car. The driver would have no way to override these functions and would not be aware of who is doing it. Hacking also allows for a person to be tracked anywhere they go. A lady who is running from an abusive man could never find a secure hiding place. The CAN bus the thing that controls all functions of the car. This is the feature of the car that a hacker can control with a lap top. (Zhang) The other problem is that hacking of this type can be used to control and endanger airplanes, trains and cruise ships. There seems to be no limits to what kinds of transportation vehicles can be hacked.
The next type of hacking is even more scary than the others. It involves computers. People who can hack into computers can steal people’s private information from hospitals, banks, department of motor vehicles and university databases. People can find that money was stolen from their bank accounts. It is also possible to use a person’s identity to open credit card accounts, make huge purchases or even move illegal drugs from one place to another. Hacking into a bank can be done with sharp computer skills, security flaws that the bank might have, or if someone who works for the bank is leaking security information secretly to the hacker. If the amount of money that is stolen from a bank is smaller and spread over a long period of time, the bank might not notice it right away. The hacker would have time to move onto another industry without getting caught. Author Rob Price wrote an article entitled, “How to Hack a Bank” on the Business Insider website. He said, “There has been a flood of news recently about hacks targeting financial institutions.” (2016) If a person can hack into a bank or another type of company, they can do more than just take money. They can steal identities. Here is a good example. Imagine a person whose name is Mary Jones. The police arrest Mary Jones because they have proof that she has stolen from many bank accounts, and was caught with illegal drug in her car. The problem is that she never did these things. An identity thief used Mary’s personal information obtained through hacking into banks and hospital computers. Mary could lose her job and home while maybe spending time in prison for a crime that she never did. It should never be possible for anyone to break into computer systems to steal information. There should be plenty of security to protect everyone from this, but the protection is limited so that it cannot be banned.
All the hacking methods are against the law. Except the scientists who hack cars on purpose for research to help manufacturers in the auto industry. Even though they are against the law, they are not entirely banned. The reason it seems like they are not banned is because there is too much free information on the internet that teach people how to hack phones, cars and computers. There are so many ways to do these things without anyone finding out. Everyone could become a victim. People need to protect themselves and their computers. There are three ways to do it. First, everyone should read about their cell phone and computer companies to find out what software is available to secure their own devices. Next, everyone who owns a car should contact their automobile makers and ask what they are doing to protect people on the roads. Next, people should always be sure to read their bank statements to make sure that there are no weird activities in their accounts like unknown withdrawals. If they have ever been in the hospital before, they need to ask the hospital to remove their personal information or demand that their information is not shared with anyone. Finally, people can get Life Lock that provides identity-theft protection. This could add more security to someone’s life. It is not expensive to prevent being hacked by someone, but not being aware of what can happen could be very costly.
- Greenberg, Andy. “Hackers Remotely Kill a Jeep on the Highway—With Me in It.” WIRED, 21 July 2015, www.wired.com/2015/07/hackers-remotely-kill-jeep-highway/. Accessed 27 Oct. 2016.
- “Hack – Definition of Hack by The Free Dictionary.” TheFreeDictionary.com, 2016, www.thefreedictionary.com/hack. Accessed 27 Oct. 2016.
- Price, Rob. “How to Hack a Bank, According to Cybersecurity Experts.” Business Insider, 17 June 2016, www.businessinsider.com/how-to-hack-a-bank-mikko-hypponen-f-secure-mandiant-fireeye-bangladesh-swift-banking-north-korea-2016-6. Accessed 27 Oct. 2016.
- “Remote Spy On Mobile.” Spy Whatsapp, Call Recorder, Sms Tracker, Gps Tracker | Copy9, Copy9, 2016, Copy9.com. Accessed 27 Oct. 2016.
- Zhang, Sarah. “How to Hack a Car and Control It From 1500 Miles Away.” Gizmodo, Gizmodo, 30 May 2014, gizmodo.com/how-to-hack-a-car-and-control-it-from-1500-miles-away-1583834410. Accessed 27 Oct. 2016.
