....People throughout our society wonder what exactly a hacker is "The Knightmare" wrote a book Secrets Of A Super Hacker that breaks this up into eight categories. They first category includes Independent Scientists, who have a set of ethics to do no harm once inside a computer. Next is the Cowboy, who are loners, have with mercenary aspects and do not believe in laws. Third is the Techno-Terrorist who are "Radicals for social improvement", do most of their hacking for power and have less then honorable intentions. The next category is the Pirate who copies programs and gives them away or sells them so they can beat the prices some corporation�s put on them. Another type of hacker is the Biblical David. This is a hacker who does everything for the good giving knowledge about security wholes in systems. There is also the Security Informant who is a hacker that works for a company to inform them when they could have a leak in their security system. Next is the hacker who is known as an U.S. Cavalry. This a person who starts off being a hacker for the "bad side" then "finds the light" and becomes more of a hacker like the Biblical David or a Security Informant. The last type of hacker is the Cyborg, who is a person who knows the ins and the outs of most systems and is a true "Super Hacker". People wonder whether or not their company is safe from these different types of hackers. It is proven that companies are unsafe over the Internet, that hacking is becoming simpler, and there are only a few ways to protect yourself from future security problems.

.....The San Francisco based company, The Security Institute, has recently reported that more than 100 million dollars was lost over computer incidents last year (1998). This is the third straight year the losses have increased. They also interviewed 521 security mangers and found out that 57 percent of them have had some kind of attack. That is also the third straight year it has increased. The security mangers also said that a fair amount of those attacks came from inside the company. "The problems are that management accounts for less than three percent of information technology budgets at businesses and organizations. On average there is only one security staff member for every one thousand users. Companies are wasting money buying technology if they don�t create the human infrastructure, policies and procedures to curb abuses" (Richmond Times-Dispatch). It is a proven fact that there are not enough security professionals to safeguard the system against attacks.

.....The Commercial Appeal out of Memphis, Tennessee came out with a publication about how hacking has become "child�s play." Not to long ago people had to know how to program, how to crack a password, how to gain a root or do some social engineering in order to be able to break into a system. Not any more. Now a days all people have to do is go on the Internet and find a list of exploits, or download a program, that is simple to use. They now have been given the name "kiddy scripts." Within a matter of minutes of downloading one of these programs with such names as Jack the Ripper, Chainsaw, or Tear Drop you could be hacking into a system. Some of these programs are "sniffers" that look for an open port and notify the user, but the user could just use the open port to sneak into the system. Another solution someone could try is to implant a virus into a system and have it mail the password list to a free e-mail account. This bread of novice hackers is very dangerous because they are not like the veteran hackers, the Independent Scientists, who have a code of ethics to not do any harm. These novice hackers do a lot of damage like deleting important files to selling information to other companies. The new generation of hackers thinks that downloading a program off the Internet and using it to cause losses for a company is "cool" while it actually is the opposite. They are costing hacked companies too much money. Web sites providing these scripts should be shut down or denied service from Internet Service Provider (ISP) to cut losses.

.....A recent publication from the Irish Times stated that the most used way of protecting data over the Internet is through the process of changing a file into a different code, encryption. Even though encryption is safe it is breakable. Current encryption uses mathematical difficulty of finding an equation. Today�s computers are very good at multiplying numbers but they do not perform to an enhanced ability when they are asked to divide numbers. That explains why companies like IBM, British Telecom, Nippon Postal, Telegraphs along with the US Department of Energy are creating a system of encrypting data using quantum physics, which is said to provide tamperproof encryption. This encryption process will eventually come to the Internet, just like the government encryption eventually came to the Internet. How safe will this be? Not too long ago, 56-bit Data Encryption Standard (DES) was standard for non-military applications, like government, but The Privacy Group decoded a 56-bit DES message in 22 hours within a couple of weeks. Will this happen to with quantum physic encryption in time? "I still believe it�s a long way off. I know it works in theory but the equipment requirements are so far beyond what we have available now that it�s still science fiction" says Dave Del Torto, an encryption consultant (Irish Times). Mr. Amer of IBM believes "We will have a working product by year 2002, but it will only be suitable for some very specific application." Though I believe by year 2002 as the computer technology advances like it is now we will probably be able to break the code in about the same time it take to break a 56-bit DES encrypted message.

.....The Internet can be a safe place, only if the right processions are in place. This includes having a firewall in place, storing all-important information on another drive, which is not connected to the Internet and is encrypted in the highest way possible. Some other ones include are never telling any one your password, always having enough security managers on site to deal with a problem and always check your system for any way an alignment user who could enter and do harm.

.....In conclusion, if any type of hacker would like to break into a system and do harm, or do it for the thrill, it is still illegal and the person should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Even though it may be illegal that will still not protect you from someone who wants to get into your system bad enough. That is why you should not skimp on any security measures that will protect you from a hacker. Therefore the Internet is unsafe for a company to do business because of the prying eyes of the many types of hackers.