What is Ethical Hacking?

Hacking is a talent. You won't learn it at school. It's like being Messi or Ronaldo. If you were born to become a hacker, it's your destiny. Otherwise, you'll be hacked. Amine Essiraj

For most, hacking is hacking and there are no shades of grey.

Everyone knows that hacking is meant to be malicious and totally against the law. Hacking is the worst slice of pie there is, and you are most certain about this. However, there is something called ethical hacking.

Have you ever considered the fact that there could be a positive side to hacking?

If you are still baffled as to how hacking could be ethical, perhaps it's time for Superprof to shed some light on this.

What is Ethical Hacking?

Did you know that there is a term called, "hacktivism?"

Hacktivism is a portmanteau of hacking and activism.

Such activism is generally considered to be rather positive and beneficial. There is, however, not much truth to that ideal as it is arguable that promoting propaganda - albeit about a political party or the environment may not be at all positive.

In fact, misleading propaganda by its very nature is considered to be a form of negative activism. While not all propaganda is considered to be misleading and negative, the truth is not all hacktivism can be considered to be a form of ethical hacking.

In the case where hackers choose to hack various media forms with the intention of causing a ruckus, it is also termed a negative form activism. Hacktivism where hackers obtain information that will be used against the organisation or entity that they are opposed to is not a form of ethical hacking.

However, ethical hacking is considered to ethical particularly because the hacking was sanctioned. Here, hackers are given contracts by an organisation so that they can test computer systems to find vulnerabilities.

These hackers check computer systems for any loopholes that malicious and unethical hackers can exploit. Such hackers are sought out by organisations when the IT professionals within the company can't seem to fix certain bugs.

So, what gives ethical hackers the right to do what they do?

The main differentiating factor between an ethical hacker and an unethical hacker is the mere fact that an ethical hacker has a hacking license.  Alongside having a license to hack and a legitimate contract to allow them to do what they do, these hackers follow somewhat of a code of ethics.

What is White Hat Hacking?

Just as the colour white is generally symbolic of purity, white hat hackers are of the pure kind.

White hat hackers are considered to be programming-savvy people who use their knowledge and skills in order to ensure that a company's system is characterised by strong security.

White hat hackers can fix bugs in a system at the drop of a hat. These hackers are also able to be innovative in terms of the code they come up with to ensure that a system is well protected. White hat hackers step in to ensure that the reputation of a company is protected, and that its computer system is protected from the malicious intent of black hat hackers.

Something as basic as assessing the strength of a password is in the job description of the white hat hacker.

White hat hackers need to ensure that they adhere to ethical principles and guidelines at all times. Perhaps many white hat hackers initially took an interest by playing hacking games such as the hacking games that you commonly find in Mass Effect.

The philosopher Immanuel Kant comes to mind when thinking about white hat hackers. Immanuel Kant was a firm believer in ethics, and it is upon this his teachings that white hat hackers should base their work. Kant believed that, as humans, our duty is to promote the greater good and this is reflected in his teachings.

Promoting the greater good, according to Kant, is deemed the sum of all our moral duty. If we think about it, white hat hackers are acting with moral soundness when they do everything in their power to protect and better the security system of a company or organisation.

Ethical hacking may very well prove to be a rather exciting career to get into. However, remember ethical hackers know code like no other.

Hacking Ethics

It is hard to think of ethics as actually being linked to hacking.

Much of a hacker's work, we would assume, would pose some kind of ethical dilemma. In fact, black hat hackers may not actually see their hacking as being wrong. Many malicious hackers or black hat hackers consider their act of hacking as some sort of utilitarian aspect that sets out their overall purpose. In the minds of some black hat hackers, they are hacking for what they perceive to be the greater good of all.

However, how can these hackers believe they are hacking for greater good when they don't follow any mainstream rules or set laws?

In fact, unethical hackers often view themselves to be virtually blameless for rule-breaking because they see their actions as not interrupting society in any way.

The financial gain from their hacking activities is seen as a bonus for the hard work and effort they put in. While we may argue that the logic of black hat hackers is completely baseless, the ethical dilemma becomes more apparent when hacking is done by hacktivists.

Hacktivists do not see themselves as being malicious. They are convinced that they are shedding light on and exposing injustice and immoral acts apparent in government and other organisations. However, can gaining unauthorised access to a governmental website in order to provoke change be considered ethical?

 There is still a fine line that separates the malicious black hat hacker from the hacktivist.  Cyberattacks by black hat hackers are done solely for some sort of personal material gain while hacktivism is done so as to bring about necessary societal change.

Types of Hacking

You may be convinced to a certain extent that both ethical hackers and hacktivists have good intentions and motives in mind.

Despite the slight deviation from that which is considered to be legally right, these two types of hackers are less likely to be malicious. If you think about it really hard, there are many different reasons why hackers choose to sit for hours on end busying themselves with a keyboard.

However, while the ethical hacker is trying to find the vulnerabilities in systems, the black hat hacker is trying to hack into systems so as to financially benefit from the time spent on the activity.

Yet, black hat hackers and white hat hackers are not the only types of hackers out there. The green hat hacker can be seen as the eager-beaver waiting to learn the tricks of the trade. Green hat hackers are termed as novice hackers who want to learn the necessary hacking skills and become more involved in the daily activities of a hacker.

While white hat hackers focus on ethics and creating ways to prevent black hat hackers from hacking, red hat hackers can be considered as the vigilantes who try to track down black hat hackers.

When the types of hackers are brought to the fore, you start wondering what else there is about hacking that you don't really know.

If not all hackers are motivated to do bad, why does the term, "hacking," have such a negative connotation?

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