A common way to classify attacks, exploits, or intrusions is to indicate whether they are done remotely by a cracker across the Internet or by a user’s having privileges on the system. It is important to note that remote attacks can be launched by any of the hundreds of millions of people on the Internet—at any time and without first logging on.

In a case of remote cracking that occurred in March 2005, Limp Bizkit singer Fred DurstÂ’s home computer was the subject of a remote attack. The cybercriminals made a copy of a 2003 three-minute private video in DurstÂ’s possession. Saying that the video was not meant for public viewing, Durst became visibly upset when the video appeared on at least ten Websites. Durst filed a lawsuit in U.S. federal court, seeking more than $70 million in damages and any profit that the Website operators gained as a result of the videoÂ’s appearance on the Web. Though the singer secured copyrights to the video before commencing the lawsuit, he maintains that the Website operators invaded his privacy and misappropriated his name and appearance.

See Also: Crackers; Internet.