As a result of their increasing knowledge and sophistication, hackers have the capability to affect NS/EP telecommunications services. Hackers have the capability to launch sophisticated widespread attacks on the PSN and these types of attacks could result in significant degradation in the nation's NS/EP telecommunication capabilities, create significant public health and safety problems, and cause serious economic shocks [19]. Hackers can cause a wide range of impacts on the PSN. Hackers can affect the availability of PSN components, and the integrity and privacy of all data and information. Fraud may also result.
The report ``Electronic Intrusion Threat to NS/EP Telecommunications'' identifies and analyzes the threat that electronic intrusion represents to the PSN and the resulting impact upon NS/EP telecommunications. The ``Electronic Intrusion Threat to NS/EP Telecommunications'' report notes that significant computer intruder threats arise from the following four categories: members of the computer underground, telecommunication industry insiders, industrial espionage operations, and foreign organizations. Computer intruders that are members of the four categories listed above tend to have similar motives and techniques.
For the
remainder of this report, the term computer intruder
will be used to mean those with hostile intent.
Computer intruders perhaps represent the most potent source of
threat because computer intruders have the capabilities to
cause the full range of threats described in section 
as well as
all of the impacts to NS/EP telecommunications described
in section .