The Computer Age

The arrival of the computer age was so rapid that we have not yet managed to cope with all the changes or with many of the consequences. More and more people are concerned about the issue of privacy in an age in which virtually everything we do is recorded somewhere in a computer system. The potential for abuse is great. Congress has considered the issue, the courts have had to deal with it many times and will certainly have to address it in many cases in the future, and the public at large is convinced that there is a potential for abuse even if such abuse has not yet surfaced. Because of this concern, there is a need for a comprehensive program of legislation to identify the problem, clarify the issues, and offer a legal framework as a solution. The book The Cuckoo's Egg by Clifford Stoll and the film Sneakers by Phil Alden Robinson are only two examples of the way concerns about computer privacy have crept into popular culture and onto the bestseller list, showing not only that people are concerned about this issue but also that they have reason to be.

The computer has developed over the past fifty years or so first slowly and then with great rapidity as new developments signaled changes in structure and operation. Computers have been made smaller and more powerful until many people have on their desk at home a computer more powerful than the largest mainframe of the 1950s. These advances have been made by a number of new and developing companies, notably those in

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ter many research and military computers through the Arpanet and Milnet networks. The hacker used a relatively simple technique to find passwords which would allow him to enter different systems, and he also exploited several weaknesses of various systems to enter them, steal files, create new passwords, and never leave a trace. Stoll himself was ignored by authorities when he first reported his findings, and it was only after months of effort that he could get government agencies to listen to him. stoll notes this in the beginning of his book: How do you spread the word when a computer has a security hole? Some say nothing, fearing that telling people how to mix explosives will encourage them to make bombs. In this book I've explicitly described some of these security problems, realizing that people in black hats are already aware of them (Stoll v). Stoll had to battle with himself throughout his effort because he was torn between exposing the hacker and dealing with a government he did not trust. His real concern was that security breaches of this sort would create problems for scientists who needed to access other computers to continue their research. In time, he helps track down the culprit and also break a spy rin

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