Studio Brief 2: 35 Pieces of Information

Internet Hacking, Cybercrime and Information Leaks

Keeping in mind my future 'map of understanding' and needing to narrow down my rather broad topic of  "technology in society", I decided to find some information out about a new theme within my subject.  The darker side of technology and the effects of internet hacking, cybercrime and information leaks has always been an interest of mine, but I have found it quite difficult to find out an in depth body of information in the past. I am hoping this task will introduce me to a new area of specific interest and understanding.

5 Quotes

“THE CORRUPT FEAR US · THE HONEST SUPPORT US · THE HEROIC JOIN US” Anonymous motto

“We are Anonymous. We are Legion. We do not forgive. We do not forget. Expect us.” Anonymous “Hacktivists” - First used 9 November 2009

“You can either be informed and your own rulers, or you can be ignorant and have someone else, who is not ignorant, rule over you.” Julian Assange, Rolling Stone Magazine, January 18, 2012

“Openness, transparency - these are among the few weapons the citizenry has to protect itself from the powerful and the corrupt... and that is the best thing that WikiLeaks has done.” Michael Moore on why Julian Assange should be granted bail, 14/12/2010.

“Hackers are breaking the systems for profit. Before, it was about intellectual curiosity and pursuit of knowledge and thrill, and now hacking is big business.” Kevin Mitnick, Huffington post, 16 August 2011

5 Statistics/ facts

The term “hacker” was coined by John Nash - the famous mathematician. "It was an insult, meant to describe someone who used a quick, elaborate solution to sidestep a problem.”

1999: Kevin Mitnick was the most wanted hacker in the United States. He hacked into IBM, PACIFIC BELL and more.

Gary Mckinnon performed the largest U.S. military hack of all time.

Worldwide hackers have stolen an estimated $1 Trillion in intellectual property. Hacking costs the US $4 billion a year in damage. It costs China $1 billion a year.

A survey of IT professionals revealed 1/3 of Companies deal with hacking on a daily basis. 81% of professionals admit their systems are vulnerable, 17% of those hacks are successful.

Social Networking Sites like Facebook are some of the most commonly hacked in the world. Hackers target personal information, like phone numbers, social networking profiles and many other areas.

5 Significant moments in history

1971: Computer hobbyist John Draper discovers that a toy whistle included in a box of children's cereal reproduces exactly the 2600-hertz audio tone needed to open a telephone line and begin making free long-distance calls. He adopts the moniker "Captain Crunch," after the cereal and is arrested dozens of times in the next few years for phone tampering.

2002: Gary Mckinnon – Military hack. McKinnon is accused of hacking into 97 United States military and NASA computers (NASA, US Army, Navy, Air Force, Dept. of Defence) Total damages $800,000 over a 13-month period between February 2001 and March 2002.

2008: Anonymous hack and online protest against the Church of Scientology

“Project Chanology”. The project was started in response to the Church of Scientology's attempts to remove material from a highly publicized interview with Scientologist Tom Cruise from the Internet in January 2008 and that Anonymous views Scientology's actions as Internet censorship, and asserts the group's intent to "expel the church from the Internet".

2010: “Iraq War Logs” wiki leaks – largest leak of classified information in U.S. history.

2011: LulzSec hacks Sony PSN, Sony Online Entertainment and Sony Pictures

2014: Suspected North Korean hack of Sony Pictures 2014

The hackers called themselves the "Guardians of Peace" or "GOP" and demanded the cancellation of the release of the film The Interview, a comedy about a plot to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The release was subsequently cancelled to prevent a suspected 100 terabytes of data being released in batches containing a list of employee salaries and bonuses; Social Security numbers and birth dates; HR employee performance reviews, criminal background checks and termination records; correspondence about employee medical conditions; passport and visa information for Hollywood stars and crew who worked on Sony films; and internal email spools.

Feb 2015: Anonymous attack on ISIS recruitment.

More than 1,000 Islamic State websites were taken down in less than 3 days. Anonymous statement: "ISIS, we will hunt you, take down your sites, accounts, emails and expose you... You will be treated like a virus, and we are the cure. We own the internet."  "Remember – the terrorists that are calling themselves Islamic State (ISIS) are not Muslims."  "We are Muslims, we are Christians, we are Jews, we are hackers... We come from all races, countries, religions, and ethnicity." "We are hackers, crackers, hacktivists, phishers, agents, spies, or just the guy from next door. We are students, administrators, workers, clerks, unemployed, rich, poor. We are young, or old, gay or straight. We wear smart clothes or Uggs. We come from all races, countries, religions, and ethnicity. United as one, divided by zero. We are Anonymous".

5 People/groups of note

Kevin Mitnick

LulzSec

Anonymous “hacktivist” group

Julian Assange - Wikileaks

Gary Mckinnon

Adrian Lamo

5 Images/ photos/ maps/ drawings/ charts

An image commonly associated with Anonymous. The "man without a head" represents leaderless organisation and anonymity

5 Inventions/ objects/ garments/ artefacts

First PC: 1971 Kenbak – 1

Internet: Invented over the period 1958 - 1972

Most devastating computer virus: Mydoom

Mydoom is a computer worm affecting Microsoft Windows. It was first sighted on January 26, 2004. It became the fastest-spreading e-mail worm ever.

When the victim opened the email, the code downloaded itself and then pilfered the new victim’s Outlook address book. $38,000,000,000 in damages, 2,000,000 PC’s affected.

The first known virus was created in 1971 by Bob Thomas and was dubbed the “Creeper” virus.

The “Creeper” virus was eventually deleted by a program known as “The Reaper” written by Ray Tomlinson in 1983 – first known anti-virus?

5 Locations/ environments/ countries

Computers and access to the Internet is worldwide in this digital age, therefore all countries and global organisations are affected. America is a prime target.

Useful films/documentaries

The Secret History of Hacking: 2001 documentary film that focuses on phreaking, computer hacking and social engineering occurring from the 1970s through to the 1990s.

Black Hat: 2015 movie about hackers

We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists: 2012 Documentary about well known hacktivists “Anonymous”

Hackers Wanted: 2008 Interview / Documentary about hacker Adrian Lamo

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Thoughts

From this task I feel I have found out some really interesting and useful information. This is the first time I have narrowed down my subject area into something more specific, since really struggling with writing my essay about such a broad subject and I have found it really helpful in doing so. I am not sure if this is the path I would like to take in terms of making artwork for my subject in the near future as I am finding it difficult to be inspired creatively by it at present and feel this subject may be a little far removed from initial thoughts on technology and its direct impact on society, however it is a start and a possibility. Now that I see how I can narrow down my subject, I will look into other areas and see where else my ideas can lead me.