2010年ESL之商务英语 14 Dealing with Website Hackers（打印版）

2010年ESL之商务英语 14 Dealing with Website Hackers（在线收听）

14 Dealing with Website Hackers

GLOSSARY

hacker – a person who tries to access and/or change the information on anotherperson’s computer or website, usually to get secret information or to destroy acompetitor’s computer system* How long would it take a hacker to break into the government’s computernetwork and access criminals’ records?

to access – to be able to see or obtain something; to be able to get something* Nobody can access the personnel files unless they have the keys to the filingcabinet.

server – a large computer that controls other computers on a network, sharinginformation between and among the computers, and often hosting manycomputer programs* Is that computer program stored on your computer, or on the server?

to embed – to put something inside something else; to lock something in placeas part of something else* Do you like the new graphics we’ve embedded on the website?

malicious – mean, cruel, and hurtful; with the intention of doing evil or hurtinganother person* The other kids made such malicious comments that she came home fromschool in tears.

code – computer programming language that cannot be read by people whoaren’t experts in that language; instructions that tell a program or computer whatto do or how to do something* They had to review more than a million lines of code to find the error in theprogram.

to redirect – to send someone or something in a different direction* When we walked into the room, we all looked at the paintings on the walls, butthe museum’s tour guide redirected our attention to the beautiful ceilings andfloors.

security – safety; protection from danger or interference* The office is increasing security by making all employees show identificationbefore entering the building.

to encrypt – to protect information by writing it in a special language so that itcannot be read by other people while it is sent* Never send your social security number via email unless you’re sure themessage is encrypted.

database – a collection of information stored on a computer in an organized wayso that it is easy to sort and to find pieces of data* They created a customer database that includes each customer’s name,contact information, and past purchase information.

to patch – to fix something that is broken or isn’t working properly, usuallyfocusing on one part of a larger thing* Harold patched the hole in the roof to keep the rainwater out of his bedroom.

vulnerability – a weakness; something that leaves one open to attack or danger* The army’s greatest vulnerability is on the northern side, where the mountainsmake it more difficult to protect the soldiers.

to pay the price – to suffer negative consequences for something one has (not)done in the past* Now in her 50s, Greta’s health is failing and she is paying the price for all thesmoking and drinking she did in her teens and 20s.

to be back up – for a program or website to be working again after a periodwhen it was not working* The technicians had to shut down all the computers to install an upgrade, buteverything should be back up again within an hour.

24/7 – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week; all the time; without stopping* Our telephone support center is open 24/7, so if you have questions you cancall anytime.

security measure – something that one does to try to keep something safe andsecure* As a security measure, the embassy requires all its employees to be indoorsafter 9:00 p.m.

to wreak havoc – to create many problems; to create a disaster* The weather is wreaking havoc on Florida’s tomato crops.

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1. Which of these would be the best way to improve website security?

a) Embed malicious code.

b) To access the server.

c) Patch any vulnerabilities.

2. What does Valerie mean when she says the specialist has been working24/7?

a) She has been working without stopping.

b) She has been working 24 hours and seven minutes.

c) She has been working 24 hours at $7 per hour.

______________

WHAT ELSE DOES IT MEAN?

server

The word “server,” in this podcast, means a large computer that controls othercomputers on a network, sharing information between and among the computers,and often hosting many computer programs: “If your website traffic continues togrow like this, you’ll need to pay for a bigger, faster server.” A “server” is also awaiter, or a person who brings food to customers in a restaurant: “Hello, myname is Sasha and I’ll be your server this evening. Would you like to hear aboutour specials?” In sports, a “server” is the person who hits the ball to begin agame of tennis or volleyball: “Christine is a really strong server, so I hope she’son our volleyball team again this year.”

patch

In this podcast, the verb “to patch” means to fix something that is broken or isn’tworking properly, usually focusing on one part of a larger thing: “The politiciansare trying to patch the old law by passing several related laws.” The verb “topatch” is normally used to talk about putting a small piece of something over alarge hole or rip: “If you put patches over the ripped knees of your jeans, they’lllook much better.” Or, “This jacket has patches over the elbows, making thefabric stronger there.” The phrase “to patch things up” means to stop arguingwith another person or to end an argument: “I don’t know if Gregory and I willever be able to patch things up after what happened last weekend.”

CULTURE NOTE

Some American hackers have “gained” (earned; received through their actions)“notoriety” (fame for something bad that one has done) for their computer-relatedcrimes.

Jonathan James was the first American “juvenile” (child; someone less than 18years old) to be “incarcerated” (put in jail) for a computer-related crime. When hewas 15 years old, he hacked into many computer systems, including those forthe BellSouth communications company and the Miami-Dade school system.

More seriously, he hacked into some of the computers that were part of the U.S.

Department of Defense, downloading software worth about $1.7 million.

A man named Kevin Mitnick was “convicted” (found guilty of a crime) of “identitytheft” (the crime of using another person’s name and other identifyinginformation). He hacked into computer networks to get the “birth certificates”

(official documents showing when and where someone was born) of very youngchildren who had “passed away” (died) and then used them as his new identity.

Other people hack into computer networks to try to steal money by accessingcredit card information. American hackers Adam Botbyl, Brian Salcedo, and PaulTimmins got access to the computer system for Lowe’s, which is a large “chain”

(group of stores with the same name in many different locations) of homeimprovementstores. They created a program to steal shoppers’ credit cardinformation, but they were caught and convicted before they could do muchdamage.

Finally, some hackers create “worms,” or special computer programs that moveacross computer networks, causing damage to many computers. In 1988,Robert Tappan Morris created the Morris Worm, which spread across theInternet very quickly and “infected” (got into and made sick) thousands ofcomputers. It cost $200-$53,000 to fix each damaged system.

______________Comprehension Questions Correct Answers: 1 – c; 2 – a

COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT

Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 592: Dealing WithWebsite Hackers.

This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode 592. I’m your host, Dr.

Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development inbeautiful Los Angeles, California.

Visit our website at eslpod.com. Download a Learning Guide for this episodethat will help your improve your English even faster.

This episode is called “Dealing With Website Hackers,” people who go into awebsite to damage it or hurt it. Let’s get started.

[start of dialogue]

Valerie: You’ll never guess what happened over the weekend.

Bill: What?

Valerie: Our website was attacked by hackers, and nobody could access it.

Bill: You’re kidding! What did they do?

Valerie: They got access to our server and embedded some malicious code thatcaused the site to be redirected to their own website.

Bill: But I thought our site had really good security. Didn’t we hire a programmerlast year to encrypt the database and patch any vulnerabilities?

Valerie: That’s what we should have done. So now, we’re paying the price.

Bill: The site seems to be back up, though.

Valerie: Yeah, we brought in a specialist on Friday and she’s been working on it24/7. Let’s hope she puts in the security measures we should have had allalong, and this will never happen again.

Bill: Right, at least until some creative hacker comes up with a new way to wreakhavoc.

[end of dialogue]

Valerie begins the dialogue by saying, “You’ll never guess what happened overthe weekend.” That phrase, “you’ll never guess,” means that you have somesurprising news, some unusual news that the other person could not evenimagine. Bill says, “What?” Valerie replies, “Our website was attacked byhackers, and nobody could access it.” A “hacker” (hacker) is a person who triesto go into a website to either steal secret information or to somehow destroy ormake the website not work properly. “To access” means to be able to see or getsomething; it’s often used when we are talking about something that is private orsecret. Do not let anyone get access to your bank account; they could steal yourmoney!

Bill says, “You’re kidding! What did they do?” What did the hackers do? Shesays, “They got access to our server and embedded some malicious code.” The“server” (server) here means a large computer that is on the Internet, or it is acomputer that is linked up to many other computers. It often has certaincomputer programs or software on it. All websites on the Internet are on aserver; it allows you to get to the website – to access that computer where theinformation for the website is stored. “Server” has a couple of different meaningshowever; take a look at the Learning Guide for some additional explanations.

The hackers got access to Valerie’s server and embedded some malicious code.

“To embed” (embed) means to put something inside of something else, to makeit a part of something else. So here, the hackers have taken the good code – thegood program on the website, and they have added – they have embeddedsome malicious code. “Malicious” means mean, cruel, something you dobecause you want to hurt someone. “Code” (code) is simply the computerprogramming language that you have to understand and know in order to use.

Basically, they are instructions that tells the computer what to do or how to dosomething. So here, Valerie’s server was embedded with some malicious, badcode that caused the site to be redirected to their own – the hackers’ – website.

“To redirect” means to send someone in a different direction. They were going toyour website, you redirect them to another website so they automatically gettransferred, if you will, to another website, and that’s what happened with thehackers.

Bill says, “But I thought our site had really good security.” “Security” here meansprotection from danger, safety. “Didn’t we hire a programmer last year to encryptthe database and patch any vulnerabilities?” A “programmer” is someone who works with computer program languages, who makes, for example, software andwebsites. Last year, they hired a programmer to encrypt (encrypt) the database.

“To encrypt (something)” is to protect your information by using a special code orlanguage that no one else can read or understand. In computer terms, thingsthat are encrypted usually require that the other person has the special key – thespecial code that would allow them to read what you have produced. This is acase of the website having an encrypted database. A “database” is a collectionof information stored on a computer in some organized way so that it is easy tofind something. The programmer was also supposed to patch any vulnerabilities.

“To patch” (patch) means to fix something that is broken or isn’t workingcorrectly, usually by focusing on one part of a larger thing – one area where themain problem is. This is a term used nowadays to talk about fixing problems withcomputer programs on the Internet, especially problems related to security.

“Patch” however has other meanings in English, and those you can find in theLearning Guide. A “vulnerability” is a weakness, something that leaves you opento attack or danger. Websites have vulnerabilities; they have weak spots – weakpoints where someone can enter in illegally, without permission.

Valerie says, “That’s what we should have done,” meaning they didn’t hire theprogrammer. “Now,” she says, “we’re paying the price.” “To pay the price” heremeans to have something bad happen to you, we might say to suffer negativeconsequences for something that you didn’t do in the past. So if you come toLos Angeles and you rent a car, and you decide Los Angeles is a safe city, I’mnot going to lock my car, I’m going to leave my car open. Well, you will probablyget your car stolen and you will pay the price. You will suffer the negativeconsequences, primarily to your insurance or to your credit card.

Bill says, “The site seems to be back up, though.” “To be back up” whendescribing something on the Internet – a website – means that the website isworking again after a long period, or a certain period when it was not working.

That is to be back up. “Is the website back up?” The opposite is the website isdown. When we say a website is “down,” we mean it’s not working; you can’taccess it.

Valerie says, “Yeah, we brought in a specialist on Friday and she’s been workingon it 24/7.” This expression “24/7” means, literally, 24 hours a day, 7 days aweek; or in other words, all the time, without any stopping. Many largecompanies have technical support 24/7; you can call them at any time. You maynot necessarily talk to someone who knows how to help you, but you cancertainly call them! Valerie says, “Let’s hope this specialist puts in the security measures we should have had all along (meaning before, in the past), and thiswill never happen again.”

Bill says, “Right (I agree), at least until some creative hacker comes up with (orinvents; creates) a new way to wreak (wreak) havoc (havoc).” “To wreak havoc” means to create a lot of problems, to create a disaster where things are totallydestroyed, or they’re a big mess.

Now let’s listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed.