In the media, the term "hacker" is often defined as a criminal, armed with a computer, set out to commit malicious acts. The US Department of Defense estimated that their computer systems were attacked 250,000 by hackers in 1995 alone. That's an attack every thirty seconds (Knittel and Soto 6). This would lead most people to believe that hackers were in fact malicious criminals. However, a hacker is simply a talented computer user with a vast knowledge of how computers work.

Not all hackers commit malicious acts. But what acts committed by hackers are considered malicious? The legal definition of a computer crime is pending. Lawmakers and computer experts have characterized it variously as using a computer to steal money, services, or property, or to commit an invasion of privacy or an act of extortion or terrorism (Caplan 218). Early hacking was simple and not necessarily harmful.

Computer Hacking. New York: Rosen Publishing

Be a Victim. New York: Plenum Press, 1991.

With this in mind, Canadian psychologist, Marc Rogers, broke down the term "hacker" into several subgroups to help police develop criminal profiles for hackers. Hackers can be profiled as newbies, cyberpunks, coders, insiders, or cyber terrorists. Newbies and cyberpunks are generally the type of hackers you hear about getting caught. These hackers have minimal computer knowledge and hack for thrills. With thrills comes bragging about accomplishments, and bragging is the quickest way to get caught. Coders and insiders are the next groups. Coders write the programs that hackers use. Insiders account for seventy to eighty percent of all malicious computer crimes. Coders and insiders are generally computer company employees and have easy access to computer systems. Finally, the most dangerous and notorious type of hacker is the cyber terrorist. Cyber terrorists are often hired by governments and corporations to steal information or sabotage rival companies. These computer experts make large amounts of money in this field. They use the most sophisticated equipment available and are rarely caught (Knittel and Soto 23, 24).

Today, millions of hackers like Mitnick are surfing the Internet waiting for a computer to attack. However, some hackers attack with no intent of

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Approximate Word count = 933
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)