Computer hackers have a powerful disguise.
Forget the image of the amateur hacker who has the habit of gazing into a screen, probing password combinations, long after sane people have gone to bed. Technical ability is nothing beside the rather comic image of the socially inadequate teenager whose world revolves around intruding into computer networks. And once the hacker is perceived as an ineffectual individual, it follows that his activities are harmless and do not merit serious punishment. This failure to spot a real threat has allowed hackers, and the authors of computer viruses, a remarkable freedom of movement. A recent DTI sponsored survey on IT security found that viruses were responsible for 27 per cent of security breaches in PC networks.