Webster's New World Hacker Dictionary

419 Pages·2006·4.93 MB·English

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TM
HACKER
DICTIONARY
Bernadette Schell and Clemens Martin
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TM
HACKER
DICTIONARY
Bernadette Schell and Clemens Martin
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Webster’s New World® Hacker Dictionary
Published by
Wiley Publishing,Inc.
10475 Crosspoint Boulevard
Indianapolis,IN 46256
www.wiley.com
Copyright © 2006 by Bernadette Schell and Clemens Martin
Published by Wiley Publishing,Inc.,Indianapolis,Indiana
Published simultaneously in Canada
ISBN-13:978-0-470-04752-1
ISBN-10:0-470-04752-6
Manufactured in the United States of America
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Schell,Bernadette H.(Bernadette Hlubik),1952–
Webster’s new world hacker dictionary / Bernadette Schell and Clemens Martin.
p.cm.
ISBN-13:978-0-470-04752-1 (pbk.)
ISBN-10:0-470-04752-6 (pbk.)
1.Computer security—Dictionaries.2.Computer hackers—Dictionaries.3.Cyberterrorism—Dictionaries.I.Martin,
Clemens.II.Title.
QA76.9.A25S333 2006
005.8003—dc22
2006013969
Trademarks:Wiley,the Wiley logo,Webster’s New World,the Webster’s New World logo,We Define Your World,and
related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons,Inc.and/or its affiliates,in the United
States and other countries,and may not be used without written permission.All other trademarks are the property of their
respective owners.Wiley Publishing,Inc.is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.
Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats.Some content that appears in print may not be available in
electronic books.
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About the Authors
Bernadette H. Schell is dean of the Faculty of Business and Information Technology at Ontario’s
only laptop university,the University of Ontario Institute of Technology in Oshawa,Ontario,Canada.
Dr. Schell is the 2000 recipient of the University Research Excellence Award from Laurentian
University, where she was previously director of the School of Commerce and Administration in
Sudbury,Ontario,Canada.Dr.Schell has written numerous journal articles on industrial psychology
and cybercrime topics.She has written four books with Quorum Books in Westport,Connecticut,on
such topics as organizational and personal stress, corporate leader stress and emotional dysfunction,
stalking,and computer hackers.She has also published two books on cybercrime and the impact of
the Internet on society with ABC-CLIO in Santa Barbara,California.
Clemens Martin is the previous director of IT programs at the Faculty of Business and Information
Technology at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology,where he is jointly appointed to the
Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science.Before joining this university,Dr.Martin was partner and
managing director of an information technology consulting company and Internet Service Provider,
based in Neuss,Germany.He was responsible for various security and consulting projects,including
the implementation of Java-based health care cards for Taiwanese citizens.Dr.Martin currently holds
a Bell University Labs (BUL) research grant in IT Security.He is the coauthor with Dr.Schell of the
cybercrime book published by ABC-CLIO in Santa Barbara,California.
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Credits
Executive Editor Project Coordinator
Carol Long Kristie Rees
Development Editor Graphics and Production Specialists
Kenyon Brown Denny Hager
LeAndra Hosier
Technical Editor
Barry Offringa
Andres Andreu
Amanda Spagnuolo
Copy Editor Erin Zeltner
Susan Christophersen
Quality Control Technician
Editorial Manager Amanda Briggs
Mary Beth Wakefield
Book Designers
Production Manager LeAndra Hosier
Tim Tate Kathie Rickard
Vice President and Executive Group Publisher Proofreader
Richard Swadley Sossity R.Smith
Vice President and Executive Publisher
Joseph B.Wikert
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Table of Contents
Preface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vi
Acknowledgments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viii
Hacker Dictionary A–Z . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Appendix A:How Do Hackers Break into Computers? by Carolyn Meinel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365
Appendix B:Resource Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373
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Preface
This book attempts to take a novel approach to the presentation and understanding of a controversial
topic in modern-day society:hacking versus cracking.The perception of this bi-modal activity is as
controversial as the process itself—with many in society confusing the positive attributes of hackers
with the criminal activities of crackers.This dictionary tries to balance the two sides of the equation:
the White Hat or the positive side of hacking with the Black Hat or the negative side of cracking.
This dictionary is written for general readers,students who want to learn about hackers and crack-
ers,and business leaders who want to become more knowledgeable about the IT security field to keep
their enterprises financially stable and to be proactive against intrusive cyber-attackers.
For those wanting to learn beyond our entries (which have been grouped into general terms,legal
terms,legal cases,and person),we have provided further readings under each entry and at the end of
the dictionary.The entries have been compiled by two experts in the field of information technology
security and hacker profiling. Hundreds of entries have been included to provide explanations and
descriptions of key information technology security concepts,organizations,case studies,laws,theo-
ries, and tools. These entries describe hacktivist, creative hacker, and criminal cracker activities
associated with a wide range of cyber exploits.
Although we acknowledge that we cannot include every item of significance to the topics of hack-
ing and cracking in a one-volume reference book on this intriguing topic,we have attempted to be
as comprehensive as possible,given space limitations.Though we have focused on the past 35 years in
particular, we note that the foundations of hacking and cracking existed at the commencement of
computer innovations in the earlier parts of the previous century.
Readers will note that much of the anxiety surrounding a cyber Apocalypse in the present began
prior to the terrorist events involving the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11,
2001,and continue to be exacerbated by terrorist events in Afghanistan,Iraq,and elsewhere.The result
of our efforts to understand such anxiety is a volume that covers hacking,cracking,world events,and
political and legal movements from the 1960s,in particular,to the present.
Entries are presented in alphabetical order,with subjects listed under the most common or popular
name.For example,there is an entry for phreaker Edward Cummings under his better-known moniker,
Bernie S.Moreover,we should point out that some crackers were minors when they were charged and
convicted of cracking crimes,and are therefore known to the world only by their monikers.One of the
most famous of these in recent years was a teenaged Canadian by the name of Mafiaboy.
Many narratives in this dictionary explain not only the entry term itself but also its significance in the
hacking or cracking field.Because information is constantly changing in the Information Technology
(IT) field,as are the exploits used by crackers for taking advantage of “the weakest links in the system,”
we acknowledge that readers who want to stay abreast of the latest findings in IT security must contin-
ually read about new computer viruses, worms, and blended threats, as well as their developers’
motivations.Although we have attempted to present up-to-date entries in this volume,we admit that the
news events associated with hacking and cracking—as well as terrorism and cyberterrorism—are as
rapidly changing as the weather.
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vii Preface
For our readers’convenience,we have cross-referenced in bold type related entries.We have also
focused on a chronology of key hacking and cracking events and protagonists over the past 40-plus
years—particularly from the beginnings of the hacking exploits at MIT in the 1960s through the pre-
sent.We conclude the dictionary with a useful resource guide of books,Websites,and movies related
to hacking and cracking.
We thank Carolyn Meinel for writing Appendix A of this book,“How Do Hackers Break into
Computers?”
Acknowledgments
We want to acknowledge the valuable assistance of the following individuals: Carol Long, Eric
Valentine, Kenyon Brown, Carolyn Meinel, Andres Andreu, Susan Christophersen, and Michael
Gordon.
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Introduction
Hacker. Now here is an interesting word. Originally the term in Yiddish meant “inept furniture
maker.”Today,the term has many different meanings,both good and bad.On the good side,the hacker
is a creative individual who knows the details of computer systems and how to stretch their capabili-
ties to deliver speedy solutions to seemingly complex information demands. On the bad side, the
hacker—more appropriately termed a cracker—is a malicious meddler in computer systems who is
out to deface,replace,or delete data for personal gain,to sabotage a system,to get revenge,or to bring
down the economic and social well-being of a nation by attacking its highly networked critical infra-
structures.There may even be severe injuries or deaths associated with such an attack—a scenario that
has been coined a “cyber Apocalypse.”
To counter the adverse effects of cracking,the White Hats (or good hackers) have been busy over
the past four decades designing software tools for detecting intruders in computer systems as well as
designing various perimeter defenses for keeping cybercriminals at bay.Also,various governments have
passed laws aimed at curbing cybercrimes.Since the September 11,2001,terrorist air attacks on the
World Trade Center and the Pentagon in the United States,governments around the world have pulled
together in an attempt to draft cyberlaws that would be in effect across national as well as cyber bor-
ders and to share critical intelligence to keep their homelands secure.
Just as nations have colorful histories and characters,so does the field of hacking.Contrary to the
present-day controversies surrounding hackers,the beginnings of the field,as it were,began as an intel-
lectual exercise.Back in the Prehistory era before computers were ever built in the early 1800s,Charles
Babbage and Ada Byron conceived of and published papers on an Analytical Engine that could com-
pose complex music and produce graphics and be used for a variety of scientific and practical uses.
Their visions became what are now known as computers and software programs.
In the early 1900s,what we now think of as a computer was becoming a reality.For example,John
Mauchly,a physics professor at Ursinus College,was the co-inventor with Presper Eckert of the first
electronic computer in 1935,known as the ENIAC or Electrical Numerical Integrator and Calculator.
In 1948,Kay McNulty Mauchly Antonelli married John Mauchly,and two years later the couple and
Presper Eckert started their own company.The team of three worked on the development of a new,
faster computer called the Univac,or Universal Automatic Computer.One of the terrific aspects of
the Univac was that it used magnetic tape storage to replace awkward and clumsy punched data cards
and printers.At this time,the computer industry was only four years old.
Then came the 1960s,the time during which most experts feel that the concept of creative hacking
truly took hold.During this time,the infamous MIT computer geeks (all males) conducted their hack-
ing exploits.Computers then were not wireless or portable handhelds but were heavy mainframes locked
away in temperature-controlled,glassed-in lairs.These slow-moving,very expensive hunks of metal were
affectionately known as PDPs.The computer geeks at MIT created what they called “hacks”or “pro-
gramming shortcuts”to enable them to complete their computing tasks more quickly,and it is said that
their shortcuts often were more elegant than the original program.Some members of this group formed
the initial core of MIT’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) Lab,a global leader in Artificial Intelligence research.
These creative individuals eventually became known (in a positive sense) as “hackers.”
By 1968,Intel was started by Andy Grove,Gordon Moore,and Robert Noyce.In 1969,ARPANET
(Advanced Research Projects Agency Network) was begun.ARPANET was the initial cross-continent,