It can bring a very big fine plus time served in prison. Recently a Knox County minor was identified as the culprit in a break in at KnoxNet. The minor was evidently unaware that the KnoxNet system runs on a Unix-based system that runs records selected details of activities on the system. The teen is facing ten counts of various fourth degree felonies. As in the case of Kevin Mitnick mentioned earlier, he was charged with telecommunications fraud and computer fraud, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years or more in prison.
Many people feel it is their responsibility to report such crimes, which is all right.
Although hackers are portrayed as irresponsible and immoral, in truth, most hackers are afraid of doing damage to a company's computer system. Most hackers also believe that destructive hacking is wrong. First, it can promote an industry. For instance if a corporation is in competition with another, they could hire a hacker to gain useful information on new products. This would be a major step ahead for a particular company, by allowing them to release a product similar to the rival company before they get theirs on the market.