Cybercrime, privacy and security concepts in the film WarGames Essay

Cybercrime, privacy and security concepts in the film WarGames - Essay Example Therefore, he takes his time to engage in cybercrimes and hacking of computer security codes in search of games to play (Bischoff, 1983). His hacking practice eventually leads him to a US supercomputer that is highly secured, due to the sensitive nature of the information it contains. This information is potentially dangerous and capable of causing world destruction through sparking World War III, which is a war of nuclear weapons. The super computer was programmed to launch missile attacks automatically, on the event of being ordered to start such an action, after the Air Force Strategic missile operatives were unwilling to turn on the button which could spark off the nuclear missile attacks (Franklin, 2008). Considering that none of the operatives wanted to be the cause of the devastating attack that could wipe out the whole world, a super computer had to be programmed, which could easily be turned into action by a simple computer operation procedure. Therefore, initially perceivin g the WOPR (War Operation Plan Response) program as another exciting game, David Lightman, (Broderick) embarks on a mission to unearth the backdoor password that can be used to hack into, and access the Supercomputer details (Bischoff, 1983). Being a computer whizz, and with the help of his friend who were also hackers, Broderick eventually manages to unearth the backdoor password and starts operating the computer program by running the nuclear war simulation, through his own computer (Franklin, 2008). Considering the threat posed by this computer operation, the simulation scares the whole security and military departments, since it almost causes a full blown World War III, which is a devastating war of nuclear missiles. This cyber crime and security intrusion into the US military department security systems is a form of black hat hacking. This is because, black hat hacking entails the process of violating and cracking computer security systems with malicious intentions of benefitin g oneself (Hanser, 2011). Broderick had been hacking other computer security systems previously, to gain access to computer games that he could play. In the process of searching for more interesting computer games, other than chess, poker and checkers which he had previously accessed, he embarked on searching for new games, which led him to the supercomputer, which seemed to possess a different nature of games than he had been used to (Bischoff, 1983). This practice of hacking into other computer security systems and accessing games to play, instead of purchasing such games from the manufacturers or retailers, is a selfish crime. Additionally, hacking into other security systems without the knowledge of the owners of the systems, regardless of the intentions an individual has, is malicious and damaging (Johnston, 2011). Therefore, this act of Broderick hacking and accessing the security systems of the US supercomputer and his continuation to simulate the war programs is a form of bl ack hat hacking, since it involves the violation of computer security and privacy laws (Subramanian, 2008). The fictional narration of this film falls under the following three categories: Cybercrime Cybercrime refers to any act of an individual to use computers or computer networks for crime. This can occur in the form of using the computer to commit crime or targeting other computers with some criminal intentions (Hanser, 2011).The film WarGames (1983), depicts both forms of crime. There is a crime of using computers to commit a violation of the acceptable computer privacy and security guidelines. Here, Broderick, who is a bright but highly unmotivated teenager, engages in the act of using