"Ethical Hacking"- An Introduction

The term "Hacker" is now an evil one, someone looked upon as scum by the public eye.

In reality, however, being a "Hacker" does not necessarily mean you are a bad person. People who open up old toys and computers to learn how they work are, technically speaking, hackers.

It was these hackers that made it so that the Internet is as dynamic as it is today. They were explorers and experimenters who were excited to discover the unknown. And it was these hackers who became among the wealthiest in the United States.

So why are hackers today now "bad guys"? Well, as always, we can always blame Hollywood. War Games was THE movie that changed America's perception of Hackers.




Now, hackers are seen as young, rebellious teens who have far too much time on their hands. Many people are now breaking into computer networks, I do admit that. However, these people are not necessarily "Hackers" in the traditional sense. They are more or less "Cyber- Terrorists", and should be arrested.

As far as computer-hacking goes, there is an alternative to the illegal route seen in War Games. Ethical Hacking is still pretty exciting, and worth-wile. However, it is done to help people defend against cyber-terrorists, and people who want to break into their systems with the intent to make money, get revenge, etc.

This Ethical Hacking or "White Hat Hacking" method involves many options. One could do what's called penetration testing, where a computer or network is attempted to be broken into with the consent of the user.

Another option is to attempt to increase the security of one's network by using additional firewalls and counter measures.

When ever I am explaining the concept of White-Hat Hacking I refer to the famous Harry Potter books when someone doesn't understand What I'm trying to say. The "Dark Arts" in these books are used by evil people, however the "Defense Against The Dark Arts" class at Hogwarts attempts to counter the "Dark Arts". This is exactly what an Ethical Hacker does.

Yes, I know, its a crude metaphor, but an effective one.

Today, White Hat Hackers work for the government, corporate businesses, or themselves, and they usually end up helping themselves or other people.