Hacking

Hacking is the act of unauthorised access to a computer, a computer network or any digital system. What separates one hacker from another is not skill — it is intent.

Who hackers are

Hackers usually possess technical expertise in both hardware and software. Their method is to look for bugs — flaws in a system — and exploit them to break in. The same skill set, however, can serve opposite purposes, which gives rise to the two categories below.

Ethical hacking — white hat hackers

Hacking done with a positive intent is called ethical hacking, and its practitioners are known as white hat hackers.

• They are specialists in exploring vulnerabilities and loopholes during the testing of software.
• By finding weaknesses before criminals do, they help improve the security of software.
• Typical working pattern: an ethical hacker may deliberately exploit a website to discover its security loopholes, and then report the findings to the website owner.
• In effect, ethical hacking prepares the owner against future cyber attacks.

Non-ethical hacking — black hat hackers (crackers)

A non-ethical hacker is one who tries to gain unauthorised access to computers or networks in order to steal sensitive data, with the intent to damage or bring down systems. Such hackers are called black hat hackers, or crackers.

• Their primary focus is security cracking and data stealing.
• They use their skill for illegal or malicious purposes.
• Their motives include:
  • identity theft,
  • monetary gain,
  • bringing down a competitor's or rival's site, and …