The high school hacker fits the profile of hackers around the
world -- young, male, above-average intelligence, and obviously, very
computer-savvy.
If you think the cybercops in Newport Beach have been busy, you
should see them in Germany. The latest global virus, called Sasser,
was launched two months ago, and last week, German police showed up
at the door of an 18-year old they've identified only as "Sven J" in
Lower Saxony, which is just like Upper Saxony, only lower. Before
Sven and Sasser were done, they wreaked havoc on computer networks at
Delta Air Lines, the British Royal Coast Guard and the European
Commission in Brussels. According to German authorities, Sven J said
he hadn't really considered the damage his virus could cause.
Yeah. I'm sure.
One encouraging aspect of the Corona del Mar cybercaper was the
reaction of some of the other students.
"I think it was really stupid, said CdM freshman Jessika Kelly in
this week's Pilot. "Why don't you just study for a test? If you cheat
you won't learn anything."
You go, Jessika. I want you to work on your spelling a little bit,
but you are definitely on the right page of life.
"It's shocking," said another freshman, Amber Peck. "Why don't you
just study instead of changing your grades? And then you don't have
to worry about being caught."
Was my head screwed on that straight at that age? I don't know. I
wasn't into the cheating thing, but when it came to studying, if
there was any way out of it, I'd find it.
There were no computers at the time, other than Univac, which took
up a large warehouse, required a team of people with clipboards in
white coats, and had about one one-thousandth the computing power of
my electronic Rolodex.
I don't remember any big deal cheating scandals to speak of, of
course none of us would have dared dream of tampering with records,
let alone tried it. Keep in mind this was eight years of Irish nuns
and four years of Jesuits.
Somebody would get caught glancing at someone else's paper now and
then. A nun or a priest, sometimes one of each, would work them over
like Rocky Balboa on a speed bag, and that was that. It was never a
problem for me, not because I was any better, but because I had the
eyesight of a lemur.
A paper on the next desk was as good as in the next classroom to
me. So the advice hasn't changed, even after all these years.
Do your own work, keep your eyes on your desk, and listen to
Jessika and Amber. I gotta go.
* PETER BUFFA is a former Costa Mesa mayor. His column runs
Sundays. He may be reached by e-mail at ptrb4@aol.com.
