White, Grey, and Black Hat Hackers

A brief history of hacking

Hacking began in the 1950s at MIT, initially referring to tinkering with technology. By 1975, a more formalized definition of hacking was adopted by The Jargon File as “A malicious meddler who tries to discover sensitive information by poking around. Hence password hacker, network hacker”.

Types of Hackers

White, Grey, and Black Hat Hackers

Cybersecurity and hacking

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All three forms of hacking have a big impact on cyber security, with white hat hackers working to strengthen cybersecurity to protect people from attacks and black hat hackers trying to do the opposite by trying to exploit cyber security vulnerabilities to cause harm. The grey hat hackers fall somewhere in between this spectrum doing some good and some harm by finding vulnerabilities in the cybersecurity. Overall, all three forms shape and evolve the field of cybersecurity with each form trying to counter the other.

Ethical vs Unethical Hacking

Ethical hacking aims to help organizations strengthen their cybersecurity by identifying weaknesses in their system using hacking techniques and is usually done with permission from the entity that their hacking. While unethical hacking involves using hacking methods with malicious intent and only self-serving interests. Ethical hacking works within the legal boundaries while unethical hacking doesn’t.

Additional Resources

• https://www.avg.com/en/signal/types-of-hackers#
• https://www.proofpoint.com/au/threat-reference/hacking
• https://medium.com/@s12deff/the-line-between-ethical-and-unethical-hacking-71fef14ea514

It wasn't before the late 1980s when the first Internet hacker, Robert Morris, deployed the first ever “denial of service” attack due to a fault in the code. Otherwise known as the Morris Worm of 1986.

White hat hackers use their capabilities to uncover security failings to help safeguard organizations from dangerous hackers. They can sometimes be paid employees or contractors working for companies as security specialists who attempt to find gaps in security.

White hat hacker

White hat hackers use their capabilities to uncover security failings to help safeguard organizations from dangerous hackers. They can sometimes be paid employees or contractors working for companies as security specialists who attempt to find gaps in security.

White hat hackers

Black hat hackers are criminals who break into computer networks with malicious intent motivated by self-serving reasons, such as financial gain, revenge, or simply to spread havoc.

Black hat hacker

Gray hat hackers enact a blend of both black hat and white hat activities. Gray hat hackers often look for vulnerabilities in a system without the owner's permission or knowledge. If issues are found, they report them to the owner, sometimes requesting a small fee to fix the problem.

Grey hat hacker