by Olusegun Akanji

Created on: June 23, 2008

Hacking has predominantly been defined as "breaking into the security systems of computers" which technically suggests that the moral background to the act is perhaps descipable moreso for the unknowing person whose computer is being broken into. Thanks to science fiction movies, we are divided into lovers and haters of the act itself. I find it weird though that while it is percieved wrong for some computer nerd somewhere to infilterate computers as he or she wishes, law enforcement agents are class acts when it comes to performing stings and investigating crime through deception. Many "suspicious" businesses have suffered from many sting operations that have involved the use of bugging devices, spy cameras and what not. Not every suspicious business has infact been proven guilty of the criminal accusations however, the privacy of a number of civilians have been for lack of a better term 'broken into' by the law in reality.If hacking is morally wrong, then why do law enforcement officers use some of these tactics in their investigations?

If I went out and bought a house or a car and had either one fitted with some security device, I would be most upset to find out that someone broke into it but will I still be upset if I found out that my car was broken into because my two year old son had mistakenly locked himself in and the car was slowly being engulfed by fire? I doubt that very much.then again will I be happy if it turned out that my car was broken into because some enthusiastic person thought he saw what looked like a flash of fire and a screaming child in the backseat when in fact that was not the case? I would be most furious.
I do not think all cases of hacking carries with it immoral undertones however I still think that a person's privacy is a person's privacy and that should be respected. In the UK, there are CCTV cameras on almost every street. The Government claims that these cameras are placed simply for crime prevention and ensuring public safety however when do you draw the line between that purpose and simple stalking?How is this different from a spyware infilterating your computer to see what antics you have been upto online? I could claim my spyware is watching out for criminals who are up to no good.
Nowadays it is impossible to make a phone call or send an email without someone somewhere either listening in on your conversation or watching rummaging through your messages claiming to be keeping a check on terrorist threats and what not. This

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