Is hacking a war tool?

BANGALORE, INDIA: There is an aura of mystery that surrounds hacking. And, of course, there is kind of prestige that accompanies being part of a relatively 'elite' group of individuals who are techno-savvy and are willing to take the risks required to become a true 'hacker'!

Unlike most computer crime or misuse areas which are clear-cut in terms of actions and legalities, computer hacking is more difficult to define.

Internet hacking always involves some degree of infringement on the privacy of others or damage to computer-based property such as files, web pages or software. The impact of computer hacking varies from simply being invasive or annoying to illegal. And the recent incidents add a 'political' (or is it apolitical?) dimension to it, at times touching the verges of a war!

Big Bang hacking was a coup that has left its bang echoing. It's hard to forget how a group of Greek hackers have got the controls of European Organisation for Nuclear Research CERN's (Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire) Large Hadron Collider (LHC) when the group hacked in to the facility and displayed a fake page with the headline "GST: Greek Security Team".

As it is slowly emerging, hacking and its target territories are moving on to a different mindset in the recent past.

We saw a glimpse during the presidential campaign in the US, when David Christopher Kernell, a 20-year-old Tennessee student was accused of hacking into Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin's personal e-mail account.

According to the indictment, Kernell accessed Palin's account, gov.palin@yahoo.com, on September 16, 2008 after correctly answering a series of personal questions.

Last November, Chinese hackers penetrated in to the White House computer network on multiple occasions, and reportedly obtained confidential e-mails of the government. The cyber attackers managed to penetrate the White House system for brief periods that allowed them to steal information before US government experts each time patched the system, as per news reports.

And, it's not just the US that has been on the receiving end.

In another case, a gang of cyber thieves broke into the personal account of French President Nicolas Sarkozy and took some dough from his account.

In yet another incident of cyber warfare, the website of a Dubai-based television news channel, Al-Arabiya Television, was hacked allegedly by a Shiite groups, that gave a religious dimension to this cyber war.

The website's main page was replaced by an Israeli flag set on fire and a political message and a warning: "Serious warning: If attacks on Shia websites continue, none of your websites will be safe."

Alas, India is on this new hacking map too.

In a virtual act of mocking the cyber crime department of the police the official website of the Andhra Pradesh Crime Investigation Department (CID), www.cidap.gov.in, was hacked and defaced recently. Though no one has publicly claimed responsibility for the act, the abusive message posted on the website points to some Islamic fundamentalist group.

The group had hacked nearly five India's site, including that of the ONGC, in a 'retaliatory' action against the hacking of the site of Pakistan's OGRA (Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority)

Amidst reports from all over the world regarding hacking celebrity sites and other websites, the community site of the former President of India, Dr. APJ Kalam, in Orkut World, was recently targeted by Pakistani hackers.

The hackers have renamed the community, originally named Dr.APJ Abdul Kalam, as Indian and have given an Islamic color to it and are using it as a platform for malicious and objectionable content.

Incidentally, the year 2009 has witnessed a lot of celebrity hacking ranging from Britney, Obama to Kalam.

Recently micro blogging site Twitter got hard hit with a major hack that left at least 33 accounts exposed, including those of pop singer Britney Spears, Barack Obama, CNN anchor Rick Sanchez and commentator Bill O'Reilly.

The recent reports suggest that the hackers used their access to the celebrity sites to inject prank posts. All these chronicles lead to a bigger question.

Should technology be used to build battle ground instead of building a new world order without barriers?