chantelle7
Professional
The Morals of Hackers
Many people believe that all hackers are evil people, but that can be far from the truth.defines an ethical hacker as “
A computer and network expert who attacks a security system on behalf of its owners, seeking vulnerabilities that a malicious hacker could exploit ”. There are three types of hackers White Hats, Black Hats, and Grey Hats. Each plays a major role in the realm of cyber security.
When most people think hackers they think evil. Black Hats more or less define evil. They hack for personal gain and personal gain only. These are the people that steal your credit card, and take down your website demanding ransom. Many Black Hats reside in different countries where laws are lax and not well enforced. Black Hats mainly work in organized crime rings, but are not limited to the individual. Black Hats fuel the cyber security nuclear arm race, and they are always getting smarter, better, and more organized. This puts strain on companies and even individuals to enforce strict security standards, decreasing revenue. Other hackers are less on the illegal side and kind of define a moral grey area.
Some hackers are purely driven by what they believe and how they feel. Grey Hats are almost the exact definition of neutral. Normally Grey Hats hack just to see if they can. Hacking is a game to the Grey Hat hacker, a challenge so to speak. Grey Hats sometimes compromise systems, but they will not harm the system. They like to compromise a system because it’s a challenge. Grey Hats are much like someone that would find doing a Sudoku puzzle is a fun challenge, except their challenge is to hack and compromise system security. Grey Hats are sometimes hated, because if they discover a new vulnerability they like telling everyone about it. Most Grey Hats are guided by learning and knowledge; they like to know the ends and outs of a system. Grey Hats find anything related to their area very interesting. Some Grey Hats calm down and decide to become a White Hat or quit hacking all together.
So who are the people building and implementing these security systems? White Hats are the pure good of the technology world. White Hats work for companies in the IT department. They are hired by everyone from fortune 500 companies to the FBI. White Hats compromise their systems to test the security of them. If White Hats discover venerability they tell the person how to fix it. White Hats can work in companies that also do what is called a security audit. A security audit is when a company pays another company, specializing in cyber security, to come audit their security. White Hats make decent amounts of money, but are always on their toes due to the amount Black Hats also trying to make money.
It is amazing to hear the role each type of hacker plays in the cyber security scene. Cyber security is all a big arms race. Whoever holds the greatest amount of knowledge is the winner. Each type of hacker has a role to play in this war. I am just hoping it’s the good guys that win this one.
Many people believe that all hackers are evil people, but that can be far from the truth.defines an ethical hacker as “
A computer and network expert who attacks a security system on behalf of its owners, seeking vulnerabilities that a malicious hacker could exploit ”. There are three types of hackers White Hats, Black Hats, and Grey Hats. Each plays a major role in the realm of cyber security. When most people think hackers they think evil. Black Hats more or less define evil. They hack for personal gain and personal gain only. These are the people that steal your credit card, and take down your website demanding ransom. Many Black Hats reside in different countries where laws are lax and not well enforced. Black Hats mainly work in organized crime rings, but are not limited to the individual. Black Hats fuel the cyber security nuclear arm race, and they are always getting smarter, better, and more organized. This puts strain on companies and even individuals to enforce strict security standards, decreasing revenue. Other hackers are less on the illegal side and kind of define a moral grey area.
Some hackers are purely driven by what they believe and how they feel. Grey Hats are almost the exact definition of neutral. Normally Grey Hats hack just to see if they can. Hacking is a game to the Grey Hat hacker, a challenge so to speak. Grey Hats sometimes compromise systems, but they will not harm the system. They like to compromise a system because it’s a challenge. Grey Hats are much like someone that would find doing a Sudoku puzzle is a fun challenge, except their challenge is to hack and compromise system security. Grey Hats are sometimes hated, because if they discover a new vulnerability they like telling everyone about it. Most Grey Hats are guided by learning and knowledge; they like to know the ends and outs of a system. Grey Hats find anything related to their area very interesting. Some Grey Hats calm down and decide to become a White Hat or quit hacking all together.
So who are the people building and implementing these security systems? White Hats are the pure good of the technology world. White Hats work for companies in the IT department. They are hired by everyone from fortune 500 companies to the FBI. White Hats compromise their systems to test the security of them. If White Hats discover venerability they tell the person how to fix it. White Hats can work in companies that also do what is called a security audit. A security audit is when a company pays another company, specializing in cyber security, to come audit their security. White Hats make decent amounts of money, but are always on their toes due to the amount Black Hats also trying to make money.
It is amazing to hear the role each type of hacker plays in the cyber security scene. Cyber security is all a big arms race. Whoever holds the greatest amount of knowledge is the winner. Each type of hacker has a role to play in this war. I am just hoping it’s the good guys that win this one.
