Hacking: An Inside Job?

"Leaving your Web applications insecure makes nohowever the U.S. Government views the activity
more sense than building a brick wall but using aas a felony and punishable by applicable state and
gate made from chain link fencing." - Jamesfederal laws.
GaskinIt should be noted that the term hacker has been
Whenever the President of the United Statesadjusted. No longer is the term 'hacker' only used
travels anywhere there are numerous individualsto describe someone gifted at programming and
charged with making sure the President is secureis able to break a website code to gain access to
and unharmed from attack. This is the premiseinformation. Today a hacker is also someone who
behind Internet security. The work you havemisappropriates company data. Typically this
done on your site is the product of valuable timescenario occurs from an inside and often trusted
and energy. For some business owners thesource.
website represents significant research and"System administrators must learn about and
creative energy. It is possible for a vulnerablemaintain their systems securely. Users have to
website to be hijacked and remade in the imageunderstand their security responsibilities." - Dr.
of something that only resembles your website inCharles C. Palmer
name only or to have safeguarded data copiedIn many cases, business are now making a
for the use of a third party.non-disclosure agreement a part of the hiring
One of the biggest mistakes a website owner canprocedure to provide an extra legal recourse in
make is allowing the work to be left unguarded.the event that data is electronically removed and
As reported in recent years hacking of aused in ways unauthorized by company heads.
computer system can occur both from within a"If a stranger came into your house, looked
company or from a remote location, which makesthrough everything, touched several items, and
the use of Internet security so important.left (after building a small, out of the way door to
"Advances in firewall technology (making thembe sure he could easily enter again), would you
easier to install and configure), improvements inconsider that harmless?" - Dr. Charles C. Palmer
vulnerability scanning and better explanations ofTaking security issues seriously is needed in the
how to repair them, and better intrusion-detectiondevelopment of a web-based business
with fewer false-positives are all key technologiesinfrastructure. It may be worth exploring both
in this race." - Dr. Charles C. Palmeron-site and off-site security features as a means
Some hackers argue they are not involved inof ensuring the long-term usability of your
felonious activities, but are simply seekingwebsite.
knowledge and using the internet to find answers,