Hacking

Hacking

White hat, Grey hat, Black hat

Ethical vs. unethical hacking

Hacking is typically viewed as ethical when there is no malicious intent and the hacker has the proper permissions. This is typically associated with white hat and sometimes grey hat hackers. Unethical hacking is usually associated with black and sometimes grey hat hackers.

Hacking and cybersecurity

All three types of hackers play a role in cybersecurity today. Black and sometimes grey hat hackers are what those in the field of cybersecurity strive to protect people from. They aim to identify and protect against these attacks before they are able to cause harm. On the other hand, white and sometimes grey hat hackers are able to identify the vulnerabilities in a system before someone with malicious intentions has an opportunity to exploit them.

White hat hacking

White hat hackers are people who only hack into things they have permission for. They are usually what we know as penetration testers, and can help companies discover vulnerabilities in their systems.

Grey hat hacking

Grey hat hackers tend to tow the line between white and black hats. They tend to hack without the proper permissions, but don't always have the malicious intentions black hat hackers do.

History of hacking

Hacking began as a way to experiment with technologies, creating and learning new ways to do things. Over time though, with the advancement of technology, this transitioned and we tend to see a lot of negative connatations associated with hacking. That isn't always the case however!

Additional Resources

https://www.avg.com/en/signal/types-of-hackers https://www.avast.com/c-hacker-types https://u-next.com/blogs/cyber-security/different-types-of-hackers/

Black hat hacking

This type of hacking is done by someone with malicious intent. It is usually done illegally with the purpose of stealing data, gaining access to a network, blackmmail, etc.