Computer Hackers American Hacked Dealing Website Computer Related Years

Some American hackers have "gained" (earned; received through their actions) "notoriety" (fame for something bad that one has done) for their computer-related crimes.

Jonathan James was the first American "juvenile" (child; someone less than 18 years old) to be "incarcerated" (put in jail) for a computer-related crime. When he was 15 years old, he hacked into many computer systems, including those for the BellSouth communications company and the Miami-Dade school system. More seriously, he hacked into some of the computers that were part of the U.S. Department of Defense, downloading software worth about $1.7 million.

A man named Kevin Mitnick was "convicted" (found guilty of a crime) of "identity theft" (the crime of using another person's name and other identifying information). He hacked into computer networks to get the "birth certificates" (official documents showing when and where someone was born) of very young children who had "passed away" (died) and then used them as his new identity.

Other people hack into computer networks to try to steal money by accessing credit card information. American hackers Adam Botbyl, Brian Salcedo, and Paul Timmins got access to the computer system for Lowe's, which is a large "chain" (group of stores with the same name in many different locations) of home-improvement stores. They created a program to steal shoppers' credit card information, but they were caught and convicted before they could do much damage.

Finally, some hackers create "worms," or special computer programs that move across computer networks, causing damage to many computers. In 1988, Robert Tappan Morris created the Morris Worm, which spread across the Internet very quickly and "infected" (got into and made sick) thousands of computers. It cost $200-$53,000 to fix each damaged system.