Hacker Gary McKinnon - Essay Example

Hacker Gary McKinnon Gary McKinnon, the systems administrator from Scotland, is the alleged hacker behind the US Military and NASA computer hacking between the years 2001 and 2002. This notorious hacker taught the world about the importance of security measures to be adopted to stop hackers from accessing highly confidential data. Thesis statement: Tight security measures with the help of security programs, effective preventive measures, and regular security verification could have prevented Hacker Gary McKinnon from hacking US Military and NASA computers.

What could have been done to stop the hacker? First of all, Gary McKinnon’s hacking exposes the lack of effective security measures within highly confidential computer networks of the US Military and NASA. For instance, an adequate firewall of effective security program could have prevented the hacker from his attempt. He was able to hack the NASA and the Department of Defense computers so easily because he was so conscious about his presence in these networks. For instance, the security measures were lower than expected by him.

One cannot imagine blank passwords in computers with high ranking status. But within US Military and NASA computers, there were a number of computers with blank passwords. Besides, there were ‘Administer’ status computers with no password. In short, the lower than expected defensive measures attracted Gary McKinnon to be a regular presence within the US Military and NASA computer network. The following security measures could have been done to stop the hacker. First of all, installation of regularly updated Firewall or other security programs can keep hackers away from accessing computer networks.

Gary McKinnon’s regular presence within the US Military and NASA computer network proves the ineffective security system which is unable to detect and prevent hackers. So, the installation of effective Firewall and other security programs is most important. Entering the computer network, the hacker was able to access almost all the data without any restriction. Richard Gissel points out that Gary McKinnon the notorious hacker was able to have the privileges of a administrator within the computer network (Gissel, 171).

This fact proves the ineffectiveness of security measures within the network. Besides, the regular updating and changing the passwords could have prevented the hacker from re-entering the network with ease. The hacker made use of early morning and late night to hack the network. This proves that security verification in early morning and late night is not so effective to restrict the hacker’s access. Scott C. Waring states that Gary McKinnon used to utilize different time zones to access the the US Military and NASA computers, which helped him to be unnoticed by the security authorities (Waring, 102).

The network engineers were not vigilant. For instance, once a network engineer asked Gary McKinnon about his presence in the network. Then he replied that he was Military Computer Security staff. This proves the ineffectiveness of network engineering within the computer network. So, strict surveillance could have stopped the hacker. Besides, after hacking the computer network, the hacker installed an administration tool which helped him to access the network from remote places. Athina Karatzogianni states that Gary McKinnon installed a remote access utility named as ‘RemotelyAnywhere’ which helped him to access the network from remote places (Karatzogianni, 109).

Besides, he deleted some system files and user accounts within the network. This proves that regularly updated and effective security programs could have prevented the hacker from entering and re-accessing the computer network. Summing, Gary McKinnon’s unauthorized entry into the highly confidential computer networks which belongs to the US Military and NASA proves the ineffectiveness of outdated security systems and the preventive measures adopted by the authorities. Besides, regularly updated security programs, time bound preventive measures, and regular security checking with the help of network engineers could have prevented Hacker Gary McKinnon from his attempt.

References Gissel, R. (2005). Digital Underworld. USA: MacroTech Press.Karatzogianni, A. (2006). The politics of cyber conflict. New York, NY: Taylor & Francis. Waring, S. C. (2010). UFO Sightings of 2006-2009. Bloomington, IN: iUniverse.