Consequences of hacking computers

It is also a computer crime to misuse computer system data. A person commits this crime by:. The punishment for committing one of these computer crimes depends on the damage caused and risk of harm created. Table 1 displays the five degrees of computer crime, the amount of damage or harm required for each, and their penalties.

Degree of Computer Crime. Amount of Damage or Harm Required. Computer hacking, the practice of using unauthorized access to a computer system to steal information or money, is a relatively new crime that has gained prominence in the age of the Internet. The hacking of government computer systems has been in the news in recent years as classified information has been leaked and hackers have faced stiff punishments.

There are serious consequences of computer hacking. A conviction for hacking can result in prison time and fines. In November , a federal judge sentenced Jeremy Hammond, a prominent member of the hacking group Anonymous, to 10 years in prison for breaking into the computer servers of a string of corporations, government agencies and law enforcement advocacy groups.

Hammond allegedly stole emails, credit card numbers and other data from the websites of the CIA and private intelligence firms.

In August , Chelsea Manning, formerly known as Private First Class Bradley Manning, was sentenced to 40 years in prison for leaking hundreds of thousands of American diplomatic documents and military records to WikiLeaks, the largest publisher of classified information in the world. Questionable or unauthorized changes? If so, dangerous malware installed by predators or hackers may already be lurking.

Hackers and predators pose equally serious and but very different threats. An unprotected computer is like an open door for computer hackers and predators. To take it a step further, protect your computer from hackers by using a spam filter or gateway to scan inbound email or instant messages.

Products like Webroot AntiVirus and Webroot Internet Security Complete thwart dangerous malware before it can enter your PC, stand guard at every possible entrance of your computer and fend off any spyware or viruses that try to enter, even the most damaging and devious strains. Webroot offers complete, cloud-based protection from viruses and identity theft for all your devices, without slowing you down. Click the link to learn more about all of our internet security solutions for the home.

This progression has contributed immensely to society and helped it in many ways, and has become increasingly vital to our well being. With increased ability to shelter secrets, there is also negative impact.

Cyber Attacks are now becoming more and more sophisticated. Anything we do online can be interrupted and disrupt in seconds by any cyber or internet attacks.

Data we keep online is very vulnerable to cyber-attacks out there which are increasing in numbers day by day. Cyber-attacks changed in , when Ukraine experienced the first recorded power outage caused by a cyber-attack. Terrorism is designed to produce an extreme reaction, and prevent people from going about their daily activities or business Faber 5.

While terrorism can do lots of damage to humans and infrastructure, cyber terrorism can do a great deal more damage to millions more people, because the world is becoming even more connected to the Internet. Although, the primary issue Americans face are virus infecting the computers and hacking retrieving valuable data. The Illuminai is a well known secret society that as prospered for decades. Many aspects of this secret group remains silenced. This group has great influence on the government and media.

Their messages are embedded with movies, music, t. Which could result into something very bad if we do not improve our computer security. Computer hacking is a big thing that needs to be stopped if we are going to rely on computers so heavily in the future. According to CNN, 47 percent of adults in the U.