White, Grey, and Black Hat Hackers

White, Grey, and Black Hat Thinkers

Cybersecurity for Data Science - Arwyn Lewis

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Governments, agencies, and organizations have now recognized the importance of cybersecurity measures in response to hacking.

As the internet became more accessible, so too did hacking techniques. The widespread adoption of the internet led to new opportunities for hackers.

As computers become more popular, so does hacking, and saw some of the largest data breaches of corporations like IBM and Nokia.

More agencies started to test their network security in response to some of the earliest forms of computer hacking.

The first "hackers" were young phone operators who would prank callers by switching telephone lines.

Brief History of Hacking

1878

First "hacking" report

1980

Computer Hacking

1990

Hacking becomes popular

1999

Dot Com Boom

2010

Cybersecurity Measures

White Hat Hackers

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Grey Hat Hackers

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Black Hat Hackers

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Ethical vs. Unethical Hacking

Ethical hacking is a legal, authorized practice aimed at identifying and fixing security flaws to protect systems, while unethical hacking involves illegal, unauthorized attempts to exploit vulnerabilities for malicious purposes, such as theft or sabotage.

Grey hat hackers fall in the middle, as another cybersecurity expert that may harm or help depending on the situation

Black hat hackers are the cybercriminals that white hat hackers are fighting against.

How Does Hacking Relate to Cybersecurity?

White hat hackers relate to cybersecurity because they work to strengthen security systems and fight against bad actors.

Resources

Black hat hackers are criminals who break into systems with malicious intent, often for financial gain, revenge, or ideological reasons. They use malware, phishing, and other tools to exploit system vulnerabilities.

Grey hat hackers are in the middle of white and black hat, with no real malicious or ethical aim. They may detect vulnerabilities and share them with an organization and ask for payment in return for the fix, but also threaten to release the information if not compensated.

White hat hackers, or ethical hackers, are cybersecurity professionals that work strictly within the bounds of computer access laws. Their goal is to help strengthen an organization's security measures, and disclose any vulnerabilities they may find while testing.