LulzSec was a group of six (possibly more) people similar to Anonymous, who hacked websites and gathered information that was supposed to remain secret. The reason I say “was” is that they are in hiding now for fear of other hackers and the authorities. They were exposed by other hackers after getting into a “war” with them, and police have been looking for them since their information was released. There have been several arrests in Europe, but last time I checked, only one was a member of LulzSec (Topiary).
This is interesting because it shows how much power these people have. Hackers can hide behind proxy servers and use Tor software to reroute their IP address and do any number of things to keep their information hidden, and still have their information stolen. Also interesting is the fact that this group perfectly illustrates what lengths the authorities will go to in order to protect their information. Some hackers think that the information on the internet should be free and public. They break into other peoples’ computers and make copies of their information.
Theft is considered taking another person’s property with no intent to give it back. But what if you’re just making a copy of it? Is that considered theft? The owner, after all, has no intent to sell that information for money, and is not losing anything in the process. The authorities might argue that it is a crime because it is a violation of that person’s privacy, but what if it’s information on a big corporation? It’s important to know the history and goings-on of an organization like the government, since they are running our country. It is true that it may be dangerous if it gets into the wrong hands, but for something that is generally worthless and not dangerous to possess, is it really so bad if the hacker isn’t making money, the hacked isn’t making money, nothing is being stolen, and someone gains a little bit of knowledge in the end?
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