Unlocking
Word Meanings
Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article.
Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article.
1. hacker (n.) [hak-er] – a computer expert who
illegally gets information from another person’s computer
Example: Many
hackers try to access important files
in big companies.
2. malicious (adj.) [muh-lish-uhs] – dangerous or harmful
Example: The box
was not allowed inside the airport because it appeared to be malicious.
3. stealthily (adv.) [stel-thee-lee] – secretly or not openly
Example: I stealthily erased the error in my sales
report.
4. infiltrate (v.) [in-fil-treyt] – to slowly and secretly enter an area
Example: The
soldiers infiltrated the enemy camp.
Article
Read the text below.
Hackers who target
smartphones and social networking sites are becoming more advanced and
frequent, according to reports.
Aside
from recording 256 new computer threats last year, a computer safety company
also reported that hackers are now attacking social networking sites and
internet-capable mobile phones because of their growing popularity.
Smartphones
or mobile phones with internet applications have become the new target of
computer hackers. Using a malicious code called Trojan, hackers
steal personal information from cellphones and stealthily install
other applications in them. Last March, a Trojan secretly encoded in a
cellphone application was downloaded 50,000 times.
The
growing popularity of social networking sites like Facebook has also made them
a new prey. Hackers use these sites to spread malicious codes on a much larger
scale by infiltrating a person’s account and sending links of
infected websites to the person’s friends.
For
the first three months of this year, daily computer attacks are 26% higher than
last year. Most victims of hackers are from China, Thailand and Taiwan –
countries where nearly 70% of computers are infected.
Hackers
usually infiltrate personal bank accounts to steal other people’s money, but
nowadays, hackers are also stealing information needed to access computer
networks of governments and companies.
Viewpoint Discussion
Enjoy a discussion with your tutor.
Discussion A
·
How do you think can the government
control computer hackers?
·
If you were to make a law, what kind
of punishment would you give to hackers?
Discussion B
·
What kind of information do you
usually input online?
·
Should people continue storing
information on the Internet despite the risks? Why or why not?
