The Personal and Social Impact of Computers - Principles of Information Systems - page 584

them more access. In addition, over 2,000 Web sites offer the digital tools—for free—that
will let people snoop, crash computers, hijack control of a machine, or retrieve a copy of
every keystroke.
Although all the details have not been revealed, it appears that an outsider used social
engineering skills to convince an MTV employee to download malicious software onto a
corporate computer. Through this ruse, attackers gained access to over 5,000 employees'
personal data including names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, and salary data. 21
Also, with today's sophisticated desktop publishing programs and high-quality printers,
crimes involving counterfeit money, bank checks, traveler's checks, and stock and bond cer-
tificates are on the rise. As a result, the U.S. Treasury redesigned and printed new currency
that is much more difficult to counterfeit.

Cyberterrorism
Cyberterrorism has been a concern for countries and companies around the globe. The U.S.
government considered the potential threat of cyberterrorism serious enough that it estab-
lished the National Infrastructure Protection Center in February 1998. This function was
transferred to the Homeland Security Department's Information Analysis and Infrastructure
Protection Directorate to serve as a focal point for threat assessment, warning, investigation,
and response for threats or attacks against the country's critical infrastructure, which provides
telecommunications, energy, banking and finance, water systems, government operations,
and emergency services. Successful cyberattacks against the facilities that provide these ser-
vices could cause widespread and massive disruptions to the normal function of American
society. International Multilateral Partnership Against Cyber Terrorism (IMPACT) is a
global public and privately supported initiative against cyberterrorism. 22
A cyberterrorist is someone who intimidates or coerces a government or organization to
advance his political or social objectives by launching computer-based attacks against com-
puters, networks, and the information stored on them. Fortunately, only relatively few cases
of cyberterrorism have been documented, including the following:
•

cyberterrorist
Someone who intimidates or
coerces a government or
organization to advance his political
or social objectives by launching
computer-based attacks against
computers, networks, and the
information stored on them.

The small Baltic nation of Estonia was subjected to a cyberterrorism attack for three weeks
in 2007 that disabled government and corporate networks. The attack followed deadly
riots by the nation's ethnic Russian minority in response to the relocation of a Soviet war
memorial. Moscow has denied any involvement. 23

•

Pro-China cyberterrorists launched a brief denial-of-service attack on the CNN Web site,
which they believe has been overly critical of China, to protest the news network's
coverage of Tibet. The attack was cancelled after less than 30 minutes, but the group
threatened to launch another attack in the near future. 24

Identity Theft
Identity theft is a crime in which an imposter obtains key pieces of personal identification
information, such as Social Security or driver's license numbers, to impersonate someone
else. The information is then used to obtain credit, merchandise, and/or services in the name
of the victim or to provide the thief with false credentials. In 2007, 8.4 million adults in the
United States were victims of identity fraud, according to Javelin Strategy & Research, which
compiles a widely accepted survey. 25 The perpetrators of these crimes employ such an ex-
tensive range of methods that investigating them is difficult.
In some cases, the identity thief uses personal information to open new credit accounts,
establish cellular phone service, or open a new checking account to obtain blank checks. In
other cases, the identity thief uses personal information to gain access to the person's existing
accounts. Typically, the thief changes the mailing address on an account and runs up a huge
bill before the person whose identity has been stolen realizes there is a problem. The Internet
has made it easier for an identity thief to use the stolen information because transactions can
be made without any personal interaction.
Another popular method to get information is “shoulder surfing”—the identity thief
simply stands next to someone at a public office, such as the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, and
watches as the person fills out personal information on a form.

identify theft
A crime in which an imposter
obtains key pieces of personal
identification information, such as
Social Security or driver's license
numbers, to impersonate
someone else.