Cybercrime Going Crackers!

Cybercrime Going Crackers!

What would you think if the road signs on the motorway told you that there were zombies ahead or that you were approaching a UFO crossing instead of informing you about the traffic jam you were about to get caught in?

1 Well, this isn't as strange a scenario as it sounds. Both of these messages have been displayed to drivers. In 2009, people in Lubbock, Texas were warned that 'THE BRITISH R COMING' by one of their road signs. Somebody had hacked into the computer system and altered the wording on the road signs. 2 They made mischief by using computer codes written by other people. Their exploits are annoying but don't usually cause too much disruption. However, their big brothers, the crackers, are a different story altogether.

Security crackers are highly intelligent programmers who break into computer systems to cause havoc. They use their knowledge to gain access to systems and infect them. 3 In 2004, one cracker introduced a worm into a number of computer systems and caused disruption on a global scale. In the UK, the Coastguard had to go back to map reading rather than relying on their navigation systems, in Brussels it hit the European Commission headquarters and in Taiwan more than 400 post office branches had to resort to

using pen and paper after their computers crashed.

4 Think what might happen if a cracker could disrupt power stations, water supplies or even air traffic control. With so much of our lives organised by computers, an attack could be devastating. The threat from cyber terrorism is very serious and very real. 5 In many cases, they invite computer hackers to try to break into their systems to see where they are weak. A number of private companies also hire hackers for this reason, to identify and protect any point that a criminal might be able to use to gain access. As the threat to national security increases so does the drive to stop the criminal crackers from getting into the system. Computer whizzes can get paid to hack systems as employees of companies, or do it illegally and risk going to prison.

Check these words

• zombie, traffic jam, scenario, warn, hack, alter, harmless geek, script buddy, make mischief, exploit, disruption, havoc, gain access, rely on, navigation system, resort to, devastating, strengthen, defences

6 a) Complete the sentences with:

• gain, disruption, resorted, spread, access, mischief, navigation, rely.

1 M puter is very old, I can't