Cybercrime, Privacy, and Security Concepts in the Film WarGames - Movie Review Example

Cybercrime, privacy and security concepts in the film WarGames (1983) Grade (23rd, Nov. Cybercrime, privacy and security concepts in the film WarGames (1983) The film, WarGames (1983), is a film narrating a fictional story of a young computer wizard, who is very intelligent and still in high school, but appears to be unmotivated. Therefore, he takes his time to engage in cybercrimes and hacking of computer security codes in search of games to play (Bischoff, 1983). His hacking practice eventually leads him to a US supercomputer that is highly secured, due to the sensitive nature of the information it contains. This information is potentially dangerous and capable of causing world destruction through sparking World War III, which is a war of nuclear weapons. The super computer was programmed to launch missile attacks automatically, on the event of being ordered to start such an action, after the Air Force Strategic missile operatives were unwilling to turn on the button which could spark off the nuclear missile attacks (Franklin, 2008). Considering that none of the operatives wanted to be the cause of the devastating attack that could wipe out the whole world, a super computer had to be programmed, which could easily be turned into action by a simple computer operation procedure. Therefore, initially perceiving the WOPR (War Operation Plan Response) program as another exciting game, David Lightman, (Broderick) embarks on a mission to unearth the backdoor password that can be used to hack into, and access the Supercomputer details (Bischoff, 1983). Being a computer whizz, and with the help of his friend who were also hackers, Broderick eventually manages to unearth the backdoor password and starts operating the computer program by running the nuclear war simulation, through his own computer (Franklin, 2008). Considering the threat posed by this computer operation, the simulation scares the whole security and military departments, since it almost causes a full blown World War III, which is a devastating war of nuclear missiles. This cyber crime and security intrusion into the US military department security systems is a form of black hat hacking. This is because, black hat hacking entails the process of violating and cracking computer security systems with malicious intentions of benefiting oneself (Hanser, 2011). Broderick had been hacking other computer security systems previously, to gain access to computer games that he could play. In the process of searching for more interesting computer games, other than chess, poker and checkers which he had previously accessed, he embarked on searching for new games, which led him to the supercomputer, which seemed to possess a different nature of games than he had been used to (Bischoff, 1983). This practice of hacking into other computer security systems and accessing games to play, instead of purchasing such games from the manufacturers or retailers, is a selfish crime. Additionally, hacking into other security systems without the knowledge of the owners of the systems, regardless of the intentions an individual has, is malicious and damaging (Johnston, 2011). Therefore, this act of Broderick hacking and accessing the security systems of the US supercomputer and his continuation to simulate the war programs is a form of black hat hacking, since it involves the violation of computer security and privacy laws (Subramanian, 2008). The fictional narration of this film falls under the following three categories: Cybercrime Cybercrime refers to any act of an individual to use computers or computer networks for crime. This can occur in the form of using the computer to commit crime or targeting other computers with some criminal intentions (Hanser, 2011).The film WarGames (1983), depicts both forms of crime. There is a crime of using computers to commit a violation of the acceptable computer privacy and security guidelines. Here, Broderick, who is a bright but highly unmotivated teenager, engages in the act of using his computer to commit several violations of the acceptable computer security and privacy rules, through hacking and accessing the content of other computers. He is fond of playing games, and thus always contravenes the intrusion principle by hacking into other computers and accessing various types of games, which he enjoys playing without paying for (Johnston, 2011). After accessing several games from different other computers, he finds that most have the same games, and therefore embarks on hacking more computers in search of more interesting and sophisticated games. This lands him on the US super computer, which is programmed with nuclear war simulations that he finds exciting to play. However, he does not understand the nature of trouble such plays could cause, since the computer is programmed to spark off a nuclear missile war that is capable of destroying the whole world. This constitutes to a cybercrime in the form of using computers to commit crime (Kshetri, 2010). The other form of cybercrime committed by Broderick is targeting other computers with criminal intentions (Hanser, 2011). This is a nature of cybercrime that entails committing crime against computers themselves. Broderick is a fan of games. Therefore, he is always in search of more computer games to play. This makes him always target other computers and hack them to gain access to their content. The malicious act of targeting computers to gain access by an individual who is unauthorized constitutes to crime against the computers (Johnston, 2011). The narration tells how Broderick was fond of targeting, hacking and accessing other computers to play games, where he had successfully been able to gain access to different types of game such as chess, poker and checkers (Bischoff, 1983). Therefore, the unauthorized access to the computers of other people and organization through hacking into them, eventually led him to the super computer, the basis of the film narration. Another form of cybercrime observable in the film narration is the Net-crime. This refers to the exploitation of the internet with criminal motives. Therefore, any use of the internet with the intention of committing a crime, either in the form of accessing the content of other computers or introducing other foreign files into other people’s computer such as viruses constitute Net-crime (Subramanian, 2008).Broderick was using the internet to gain access to other people’s computers or the computers of organizations in search of games to play. The misuse of the internet does not only constitute a crime, but also paves way for other forms of cyber crimes (Hanser, 2011). Net-crime constitutes a violation of the codes of computer and internet usage, making it a cybercrime. Finally, the narration of this fictional film portrays another form of cybercrime, referred to as cyber warfare. This is a form of crime that involves the use of the computers and the internet to cause alarm and spark off disturbance and wars (Johnston, 2011). The hacking and access of the US supercomputer by Broderick allowed him to engage in simulating the nuclear war programs that were programmed and stored in the supercomputer. The simulation almost triggered World War III, since the computer was programmed to automatically spark a nuclear missile attack, in case of the simulation of programs installed in the computer (Franklin, 2008). Cyber warfare also constitutes any planned attack on others or other countries using the computer and the internet technologies. Therefore, the actions of Broderick to cause an alarm and scare the security and military department, which almost triggered an attack on the Russian military constitutes cyber warfare. The warfare in the narration occurs in the form of cyber command, where the programmed military systems are automated to undertake an attack through computer simulation (Kshetri, 2010). Therefore, the act of Broderick to simulate the automatically programmed nuclear missiles, indicated that the warfare between the USA and Russia had been officially commanded to start, raising fear and scaring the departments concerned, since it happened unexpectedly. Computer privacy violations The narration in this film depicts another category of computer and internet usage crime, in the form of privacy violations. The young brilliant teenage was fond of playing games. However, he did not make any effort to acquire his own games, but opted to hack other computers to access and play games they contained (Bischoff, 1983). This act persisted until he ended up hacking the most sensitive computer in the US, which comprised of sensitive and confidential warfare information that was only accessible by the authorized security and defense personnel. This unauthorized access constituted the violation of computer privacy, which hinders any unauthorized persons from accessing computers or the contents of the computers they do not own or which they do not have the authority to access (Subramanian, 2008). The actions of Broderick did not only amount to privacy violation, but also to abuse of information stored in the super computer. While hacking and accessing other computers, his intention was that of accessing and playing games. However, after hacking into the super computer, he came across very sensitive and dangerous nuclear war programs, which were meant to trigger a nuclear war. Without this knowledge, Broderick embarked on simulating the programs, which scared the security and the defense personnel, since such simulation was an indication of the start of a nuclear war (Bischoff, 1983). Therefore, Broderick inappropriately used the information stored in the computer, through playing games, as opposed to its major purpose of starting a war. This constitutes an abuse of information, which is a breach of the privacy rules. Broderick’s privacy violations are not only identifiable in hacking the US defense security systems. Previously, he had hacked into his districts education system (Franklin, 2008). Here, he hacked and gained access in to the district education information computers, where the area students’ grades were stored, and altered his grades as well as those of his friend. Therefore, the intentional and malicious acts of Broderick are once again seen in these actions, qualifying his actions as security and privacy violations of computer information (Hanser, 2011). Considering that he was bright but did not manage a good performance in school, he sought to improve his grades through altering the records of the district education information. Security violations Maintaining the security of information stored in a computer is necessary to shield it from unauthorized access and usage. Therefore, it is necessary to secure information stored in a computer through the use of password and security codes. From the fictional film WarGames (1983), Broderick was a computer whizz who was fond of hacking and accessing information from other people’s computers. Notwithstanding that such information was secured through passwords and security codes, Broderick could use his intelligence to hack into the computers and access the information stored (Johnston, 2011). In his normal search of games, he ended-up hacking into the US super computer and accessing the war information that was stored there. This constitutes a computer security breach (Hanser, 2011). When an individual unintentionally breaches the computer security, and accesses private information stored in the computer, the security violation is categorized as computer crime (Kshetri, 2010). However, when an individual embarks on breaching computer security intentionally, with the malicious intentions of accessing and using the content of the computer un-authoritatively, the act is categorized as a cyber crime. Cyber crime is a more serious security offense than computer crime, owing to the intentions of the individuals involved (Johnston, 2011). Therefore, since Broderick intentionally hacked into computer systems to gain access and play the games stored, this is a cyber crime security breach. The intentional search for a backdoor password to the system indicates a desire to breach the security systems of the US. Conclusion The film, WarGames (1983), is one of the films depicting IT/computer networks narrative position, which involves hacking of security systems by a teenage and his accomplices to benefit themselves out of the computer and networks violations. This film represents a form of black hat hacking, where the individuals are involved in tampering with the security and privacy of other computer systems intentionally, in order to benefit inappropriately. Therefore, WarGames (1983) is a fictional film narration presenting various categories of computer and network crimes such as cyber crime, privacy violations and breach of security systems. The film presents cybercrime in various forms, such as crime targeting computers and crime of using computers to cause computer systems security and privacy breach. Net-crime is another form of cybercrime presented by the film narration, where the teenager defies the internet application rules and protocol, to use it as a channel for advancing his criminal activities. Therefore, WarGames (1983) is a film narration portraying cutting edge technological crime that could wipe out the whole world. References Bischoff, D. (1983). Wargames: A novel. New York: Dell. Franklin, H. B. (2008). War stars: The super weapon and the American imagination. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press. Hanser, D. (2011). Gang-related cyber and computer crimes: Legal aspects and practical points of consideration in investigations. International Review of Law, Computers & Technology, 25 (2), 47-55. Johnston, K. M. (2011). Science fiction film: A critical introduction. Oxford: Berg. Kshetri, N. (2010). Diffusion and Effects of Cyber-Crime in Developing Economies. Third World Quarterly, 31(7), 1057-1079. Subramanian, R. (2008). Computer security, privacy, and politics: Current issues, challenges, and solutions. Hershey: IRM Press. Read More