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1998-03-25
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Jury still out on hacking
By Rose Aguilar
August 18, 1996, 1:30 p.m. PT
The hackers that took over the Justice
Department's home page have stirred up the
debate about the government's ability and role in
regulating the Internet.
Some Internet activists are praising the hackers
that turned the U.S. Department of Justice home
page into the "Department of Injustice" this
weekend, because it demonstrates the agencyÆs
own weakness in regulating activities on the Net.
But others have condemned the hackers because
their tasteless actions offer an excellent example of
why the government should get more involved in
monitoring the Internet.
On Saturday Justice Department home page
visitors were greeted by swastikas, nude photos,
and George Washington saying "Move my grave
to a free country! This rolling is making me an
insomniac!"
Anticensorship hackers, hoping to get their point
across, changed the home page to read the
Department of Injustice, stating that "Big Brother is
watching you! Hail your new master!"
The Justice Department said it received complaints
on Saturday about its "redesigned" home page and
promptly took down the site. It was restored
Sunday afternoon and internal communications
were not affected.
A department spokesman said today that the
department is taking "reasonable action" to catch
the perpetrators, but wouldnÆt elaborate. Entering
a government computer without authorization is a
crime punishable by up to five years in prison.
The hackers also expressed concern about the
government taking away citizens' rights to freedom
and free speech, including wiretapping and
unwarranted searches of private property. "Free
speech in the land of the free? Privacy in a state of
wiretaps and government intrusion? It is hard to
trick hundreds of millions of people out of their
freedoms," the site read.
The hackers were expressing their opposition to
the Communications Decency Act, but many
Internet activists say such actions are making
matters worse, not better.
"This is precisely the thing we don't need: bad
publicity. To the guys that did this...thanks for
giving the real CDA-fighters a bad name," said one
activist who posted comments in the Fight
Censorship news group.
Another comment read: "This'll definitely cost us
some of the hard work we've done and headway
we've gained in establishing credibility for a
cyber-rights movement."
But others disagree and say this incident proves
that the government has a long way to go before
understanding the Internet.
"The highest law-enforcement office in the land has
just been shown to have major vulnerability in
defending itself from outside attack. That the
attack appears to be not from a concerted terrorist
group but whimsical pranksters is even more
embarrassing."
"It is the same action that news crews
demonstrated by recently smuggling explosives
onto planes in the wake of the downing of TWA
800," said Glenn Hauman, president of
BiblioBytes, which sells books online.
The hacking incident also confirms the need for
better encryption to protect information, Hauman
said. "It illustrates the need for stronger
cryptography. The government can't even protect
its own computers from outside action."
Copyright ⌐ 1996 CNET Inc. All rights reserved.