Hardware theft is either the stealing of the ac-tual computer or its peripherals, but it can also in-clude the piracy of a computer's internal design. It is related to hacking in that stolen or "borrowed" hardware may be used to procure access codes. In the case of design piracy, a hacker might clandes-tinely monitor the
private e-mail and other com-puter files of a hardware designer in an effort to steal innovative ideas.
Software theft or piracy is the unauthorized copying of programs protected by copyright. Often hackers will make personal copies of software they find on a computer system, so they can learn how it was programmed and how it works. As with hardware piracy, there is also the aspect of wanting to get an edge on a
competitor's new line of soft-ware, and so there is the hacking connection. Information theft may include stolen credit card numbers" TRW reports, new product specs, lab re-sults, patient or client data, or any other data that might be potentially valuable. Electronic espionage occurs when that information is sold to a
third party, making the hacker a spy for either another country or company. In both cases hacker tech-niques are used to steal the information, and pos-sibly even to make contact with the spy agency in the first place.
