Who is a Hacker and what is Ethical Hacking?

Who is a hacker?

A hacker is someone who likes to tinker with electronics or computer systems. Hackers like to explore and learn how computer systems work, finding ways to make them do what they do better, or do things they weren’t intended to do.

Hackers are classified according to the intent of their actions. The following list

classifies hackers according to their intent.

Ethical Hacker (White hat): A hacker who gains access to systems with a view to fixing the identified weaknesses. They may also perform Penetration Testing and vulnerability assessments.

Hacker (Black hat): A hacker who gains unauthorized access to computer systems for personal gain. The intent is usually to steal corporate data, violate privacy rights, transfer funds from bank accounts etc.

Grey hat: A hacker who is in between ethical and black hat hackers. He/she breaks into computer systems without authority with a view to identify weaknesses and reveal them to the system owner.

Script kiddies: A non-skilled person who gains access to computer systems using already made tools.

Hacktivist: A hacker who use hacking to send social, religious, and political, etc. messages. This is usually done by hijacking websites and leaving a message on the hijacked website.

Phreaker: A hacker who identifies and exploits weaknesses in telephones instead of computers.

What is Ethical Hacking?

Ethical Hacking is identifying weaknesses in computer systems and/or computer networks and coming with countermeasures that protect the weaknesses. Ethical hackers must abide by the following rules.

• Get written permission from the owner of the computer system
computer network before hacking

• Protect the privacy of the organization been hacked.

• Transparently report all the identified weaknesses in the computer system to the organization.

• Inform hardware and software vendors of the identified weaknesses.

Importance of Ethical Hacking

In the dawn of international conflicts, terrorist organizations funded cybercriminals to breach security systems, either to compromise national security features or to extort huge amounts by injecting malware and denying access.

Resulting in the steady rise of cybercrime. Organizations face the challenge of updating hack-preventing tactics, installing several technologies to protect the system before falling victim to the hacker.

New worms, malware, viruses, and ransomware are primary benefit are multiplying every day and is creating a need for ethical hacking services to safeguard the networks of businesses, government agencies or defense.

How long does it take to become an expert

hacker?

Becoming a great hacker isn’t easy and it doesn’t happen quickly. Being creative helps a lot. There is more than one way a problem can be solved, and as a hacker, you encounter many problems. The more creative you are the bigger chance you have of hacking a system without being detected.

Another huge quality you must have is the will to learn because without it, you will get nowhere. Remember, Knowledge is power. Patience is also a must because many topics can be difficult to grasp and only over time will you master them.