COSC 511 Questions for March 1, 1999


1.  Visit one of the hacker sites.  Summarize the type of information
available on the site.  Comment on the ethics of putting that
information on the Internet.

2.  How do hackers break into computers?

3.  What are the information warfare threats to information stored on
your computer when you browse the Web?  In other words, what could an
adversary do to you or attempt to do to you?  Can they break into your
computer, read files, capture keystrokes, plant a virus, destroy data,
or take money from your bank account?  You can answer this in the
context of your own personal computer or a computer at work, but state
which.

4.  If hackers penetrate a Web site and alter the home pages to include
messages of political protest, is the activity more akin to (a)
vandalism, (b) conducting a demonstration in front of the company's
physical premises, or (c) something else (describe)?

5.  What is Back Orifice (it is not in the text)?  Is it a serious
threat?

6.  In what ways could your identity be stolen and what would be the
costs to you?

7.  How can you recognize a virus hoax or any other type of hoax on the
Internet?  What should you do when someone sends you one?

8.  In what ways can you get a virus on your computer?

9.  What issues and challenges do law enforcement agencies face when
investigating a computer break-in?

10.  How could an adversary exploit the technologies and methods of
attack described in these chapters in a strategic attack against the
United States?

11.  Write down 2 questions for the speaker.