Based only on the information given in this biography, discuss the credibility and authority of the person described on each of the topics in the list that follows:David A. Kilbourne taught himself to program in three different computer languages by the time he was sixteen. At seventeen, he was a member of a loose-knit southern California group of computer "hackers" that specialized in tapping the databases of large corporations, including the telephone company and several banks. In 1994, Kilbourne was charged with using his home computer and a telephone communications device to manipulate data in the Pacific Bell Telephone database to avoid telephone bills for his household and those of several friends for almost two years. It was also discovered that he had savings accounts at two Bank

Question

of America branches, with balances totaling over seventy thousand dollars, despite never having made a deposit or even "officially" opening the accounts. Kilbourne was found guilty on several counts of defrauding the two companies and was put on three years' probation. During his probation, Bank of America hired him as a consultant to assess the security of its computer files, a job at which he worked for nearly a year. He now works for a legitimate software house in the Silicon Valley. (Asked which side of the law he preferred working on, Kilbourne replied, "Everything considered, being an outlaw was more fun.")a. the morality of software piracyb. corporate data banksc. telecommunicationsd. purchasing a computer for a small businesse. electronic gamesf. computer programming

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

We'd listen to Kilbourne with attention on topics (b), (c), and (f), and we'd give his opinions more weight than our own on (d) and (e). We think we could get better authority on (a).