Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
rity system and writes a virus to exploit this weakness. The
individual then releases this virus to “friends,” causing the
staff of a local computer center several hours of work as they
clean files and check that any damage has been corrected.
Now suppose the individual is caught in either of the follow
ing ways:
The individual comes forward soon after the initial infec
tion to reveal the details of the virus.
The individual is identified through careful detective work
of the computer center staff.
In either circumstance, the development of a virus is against
computer center rules, and the director wants to prosecute.
However, the individual claims the development of the virus
was a good thing, because it did nothing harmful and high
lighted security weaknesses before real trouble could occur.
a.
Do you think the director is right in wanting to prosecute?
b.
What do you think about the individual's claim that writ
ing the virus actually was a public service?
c.
Does your answer to a or b depend on how the individual
was caught? Explain.
■
Exercises
1.
Two key concepts introduced in this chapter are “permanent
memory” and “transitory memory.”
a.
Give a careful definition of each of these terms.
b.
Now consider the words or phrases identified in
“Terminology from this Chapter.” Use “permanent mem
ory,” “transitory memory,” and “other topics” as main cat
egories, and organize the other words or phrases into these
categories. Explain why each term belongs in its category.
c.
In part b, can you find any unifying theme for the terms in
the “other topics” category? Explain.
d.
Give careful definitions of each of the terms listed in
“Terminology from this Chapter.” Be sure your definitions
distinguish between similar, but different, concepts.
