network ( he would be arrested just three years later and sentenced to five years in prison ), and Robert Morris becomes the first person convicted under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act after developing the “ Morris Worm ,” one of the first computer worms ( not to be confused with a virus ). Around the same time , the First National Bank of Chicago is the victim of a $ 70 million computer heist .
Following an attack on AT & T ’ s longdistance service in the early 90s , there is a nationwide crackdown on hackers in the U . S . led by the US Secret Service known as “ Operation Sundevil ” and many prominent hackers are arrested . Despite these troubles , 1993 sees the very first DEF CON , an annual hacking conference in Las Vegas ( the same year 1993 ’ s Jurassic Park shows off a very … odd depiction of hacking ). One year later , a ring of Russian hackers led by Vladimir Levin steals $ 10 million from Citibank . Levin is arrested a year later and sentenced to three years in prison .
By this point , hacking has clearly become synonymous with criminal activity . This isn ’ t helped by the fact that hackers have defaced websites for the CIA , NASA , Department of Justice , Air Force and Defense Department . Popular services like Yahoo ! and AOL are not safe , either . An anti-hacker ad even premieres during the 1998 Super Bowl .
The 2000s do little to improve this reputation . The ILOVEYOU worm infects millions of computers in a matter of hours , causing $ 10 million in damage . The following year , Michael Calce succeeds in bringing down Yahoo !, CNN , Amazon , eBay , and Dell . com with his “ Rivolta ” DDoS system . Meanwhile , Gary McKinnon ( aka Solo ) hacks over 90 U . S . government computers , allegedly deleting files and damaging operations . 2006 brings about the formation of WikiLeaks — an organization that continues to have a major impact on journalism . And 2007 sees George ‘ geohot ’ Hotz carrier unlock an iPhone . Three years later , he hacks the PS3 , prompting a retaliatory lawsuit from Sony . One year after that , in 2011 , LulzSec , a hacker group , launches a series of attacks on Sony ’ s PlayStation Network , stealing the information of 77 million users — one of the top five largest data breaches in history . In 2013 , discount retailer Target suffers a security breach when hackers target their point-of-sale system , which compromises 40 million credit cards , possibly affecting more than 100 million people . Cue ominous music .
TL ; DR : Hacking has been around for a long time and is becoming increasingly more important in our age of “ cyber security .” Above , you will see a list of names and events . Mostly , these are negative . But that doesn ’ t mean that hacking is inherently bad . Hackers point out the holes in our security and release information ( positively or negatively ) that people don ’ t want to be seen . Just like anything else , hacking can be a force for good or evil . In an increasingly more digital world , the revolution will be computerized .
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