The Role of "White Hat" Hackers in Information Security

1666 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Advantages and disadvantages of black hat hackers

I. Introduction

"Hacking" is defined as making a modification to something to improve it or to make it do something it was not originally intended to do. A hacker is someone who will seek out security flaws or holes in a computer or telephone system. Media coverage has given the term "hacker" a negative connotation. However, the original usage was complimentary, indicating someone with a high level of technical sophistication, or someone who enjoyed the intellectual challenge of overcoming or circumventing limitations.

"White hat" hackers are individuals who endeavor to identify security weaknesses, and point these weaknesses out to the companies whose systems they have penetrated. This allows the company to patch the holes identified, before "black hat" hackers can find and exploit the same flaws with malicious intent.

There are two types of "white hat" hackers. One group includes individuals who are hired by a company to test their security systems. The other group pursues hacking as an avocation – they are uninvited guests who penetrate security systems for the enjoyment of being able to do it. These uninvited "white hat" hackers will, by definition, leave a message for the system administrator to advise them of the flaws discovered during their visit.

II. Free Spirits

The unpaid "white hat" hackers have a very romantic vision of their role in cyberspace. Hackurity is a web page devoted to "white hat" hacking. Their home page states that, "Hacking is about pushing the envelope, using technology to its full potential, understanding technology rather than simply relying on it. These days, it’s easier than ever to use a computer without being computer literate. Just point and click. Hacking is about going beyond that, about doing things that are not supposed to be possible, about finding new things and exploring. The land is settled from one coast to the next.

Show More
Related

  • The Use of Hacking to Identify Weaknesses in Computer Security

    1406 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hacking has two primary definitions; the first refers to the enthusiastic and skilful use of computers to solve problems (Techterms, 2013); the second, to “gain unauthorized access to data in a system or computer” (Oxford Dictionaries, 2013). In the context of this essay the second definition is more appropriate and will be the meaning inferred throughout. This definition also more closely aligns with legal terminology used in the UK when describing the hacking of computers. The Computer Misuse Act (1990) introduced three criminal offenses:

    Read More

  • Catherine Bracy: Why Do Good Hackers Make Good Citizens?

    746 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Ted Talk presented by Catherine Bracy took the word hacking to another level. A new way of looking at a hacker. A hacker meaning much more than a teen behind a computer trying to steal information. The points she brought out is that reaching out to the people can get things done and strengthen relationships between people and an organization and through that relationship both parties are more stable and content. Bracy expressed her experiences with hackers in a government and citizen view, but this can also be applied to personal and

    Read More

  • Counter culture / Hackers

    1334 Words  | 3 Pages

    In reality, most hackers are ordinary people with a great deal of curiosity, above-average skills with a computer, a good understanding of human nature, and plenty of time to kill. Hackers have no distinguishing characteristics. Your next-door neighbor could be a hacker, as could your niece or nephew, one of your co-workers, or even the kid who serves you coffee in the morning. Not all hackers are dangerous and out to destroy business or damage lives. The view of the general public toward hackers is mixed. A recent CNN-poll shows 33% of respondents labeling hackers as "useful," 17% seeing them "as a menace," and the majority (45%) seeing hackers as "both" useful and a menace (CNN, 1999).

    Read More

  • Computer Crime In The 1990s

    2370 Words  | 5 Pages

    Our generation is the first to travel within cyberspace, a virtual world that exists with all the computers that form the global network. For most people today, cyberspace is still a bewildering and alien place. How computers work and how they affect our lives is still a mystery to all but the experts, but expertise doesn't necessarily guarantee morality. Originally the word hacker meant computer enthusiasts but now that the internet has revealed its potential for destruction and profit the hacker has become the outlaw of cyberspace. Not only do hackers commit crimes that cost millions of dollars, they also publicize their illegal techniques on the net where innocent minds can find them and be seduced by the allure of power and money.

    Read More

  • hacker crackdown

    656 Words  | 2 Pages

    THE HACKER CRACKDOWN Law and Disorder on the Electronic Frontier CONTENTS Preface to the Electronic Release of *The Hacker Crackdown* Chronology of the Hacker Crackdown Introduction Part 1: CRASHING THE SYSTEM A Brief History of Telephony / Bell's Golden Vaporware / Universal Service / Wild Boys and Wire Women / The Electronic Communities / The Ungentle Giant /

    Read More

  • Hacker Crackdown

    1754 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Hacker Crackdown: Law and Disorder on the Electronic Frontier by Bruce Sterling is a book that focuses on the events that occurred on and led up to the AT&T long-distance telephone switching system crashing on January 15, 1990. Not only was this event rare and unheard of it took place in a time when few people knew what was exactly going on and how to fix the problem. There were a lot of controversies about the events that led up to this event and the events that followed because not only did it happen on Martin Luther King Day, but few knew what the situation truly entailed. There was fear, skepticism, disbelief and worry surrounding the people that were involved and all of the issues that it incorporated. After these events took place the police began to crackdown on the law enforcement on hackers and other computer based law breakers. The story of the Hacker Crackdown is technological, sub cultural, criminal, and legal. There were many raids that took place and it became a symbolic debate between fighting serious computer crime and protecting the civil liberties of those involved.

    Read More

  • Hacktivism at Its Best

    1124 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...difficult to try and tell someone that ethics and moral are important for an individual or our society. Hacktivism being a recent adaptation of computer hacking has spread through out the world consistently from years ago. Some are political activists trying to make a point and achieve some goals and getting through tot the people. Hacktivist show society what the new problems are in the world without permission of the law. Some show what could happen if there was a full on cyber terrorism placed against us. In the end, these actions that were used to only show what could happen have turned into being a message that shows us they are just as dangerous as anyone else. The fear people have of hackers is about the same as criminals on the street.

    Read More

  • Computer Crime

    1344 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hacking was once a term that was used to describe someone with a great deal of

    Read More

  • Cyber Security, Ethics, And Ethics

    1447 Words  | 3 Pages

    Millions of people all around the world are using Smartphones, like iPhones, which turns out to be crucial part of our lives. We are using them not only for calling but we also store unbelievably huge amount of personal information. We have there all our contacts, calls and messages and all our pictures that we save and keep in the phones. A

    Read More

  • Kevin Mitnick

    979 Words  | 2 Pages

    Hacking has been around since the birth of computers. When the term hacking was first used, its meaning was not that of how we think of it today. At the origins of computing, a hacker was considered to be just a "creative programmer (Baase, 2003)." Early forms of computer games as well as the beginnings of operating systems were discovered and created by these original hackers. These hackers plunged into systems as a way of an intellectual challenge and to aspire to gain knowledge (Baase, 2003). Kevin Mitnick believes he falls into this realm of hackers. Hackers in today's era are now looked upon as criminals who invade the privacy rights of individuals and have the ability to deliver worms/viruses. The differences are that hackers today have full intentions of delivering terrible viruses and worms. Mitnick was one of the most infamous hackers during the 1980's. He molded his hacking style around the stupidity of humans and his quest for intellectual knowledge. The ways in which he wiggled his way into computer systems extenuates many of the issues surrounding computer security and privacy.

    Read More

  • Summary Of 'Hackers And The Contested Ontology Of Cyberspace'

    1145 Words  | 3 Pages

    One is that while both hackers and the technologies they utilize have changed over the years, they will continue to be affected by the stigma caused from the conflicting views of hacker culture. With the hacker ideal and their free and open software on one side, and societal institutions with a vested interest in controlling information on the other. That the deliberate attempt to portray hackers as problematic or undesirable element of society has negative consequences as hackers have things to offer both in terms of their technical skills but also in the area of culture and politics (212). And that by portraying the more extreme fringe hackers in a negative light, they are essentially poisoning the well, making it more difficult for the voices and contributions of the non-criminal hackers to be

    Read More

  • Black Hat Hacking Essay

    686 Words  | 2 Pages

    Goals: Black hat hacker goal is to bypass the internet security or a breach. their goal is to creating a computer virus and sent to a person or large organization to exploit sensitive data from their purposes.

    Read More

  • Cyber Crime and Businesses

    1362 Words  | 3 Pages

    The term “hacker” has been in use since the early 1980’s due to mass media usage to describe computer criminals. The use of this term is vastly used by the general population and most are not aware that there are different meanings to the word. People within the computing community especially within the programming subculture emphasize the use of the term “crackers” for computer security intruders (cyber criminals). Early hackers rarely used their skills for financial gain as a motivation for their criminal behavior in that time cybercrime was infantile and largely seen as a practical joke or game by those who committed it. Bob Thomas created the first credited computer worm n...

    Read More

  • Ethical Hacking Essay

    2025 Words  | 5 Pages

    The Art of exploring various security breaches is termed as Hacking.Computer Hackers have been around for so many years. Since the Internet became widely used in the World, We have started to hear more and more about hacking. Only a few Hackers, such as Kevin Mitnick, are well known.In a world of Black and White, it’s easy to describe the typical Hacker. A general outline of a typical Hacker is an Antisocial, Pimple-faced Teenage boy. But the Digital world has many types of Hackers.Hackers are human like the rest of us and are, therefore, unique individuals, so an exact profile is hard to outline.The best broad description of Hackers is that all Hackers aren’t equal. Each Hacker has Motives, Methods and Skills. But some general characteristics can help you understand them. Not all Hackers are Antisocial, PimplefacedTeenagers. Regardless, Hackers are curious about Knowing new things, Brave to take steps and they areoften very Sharp Minded..

    Read More

  • CyberSecurity and the Threat to National Security

    2034 Words  | 5 Pages

    It is difficult to define cyberculture because its boundaries are uncertain and applications to certain circumstances can often be disputed. The common threads of defining cyberculture is a culture which has evolved and continues to evolve from the use of computer networks and the internet and is guided by social and cultural movements reflective of advancements in scientific and technological information. It is not a unified culture but rather a culture that exists in cyberspace and is a compilation of numerous new technologies and capabilities, used by diverse people in diverse real – world locations. Cyberculture, a twentieth century phenomena, has brought challenges unlike any other that the United States has seen in the areas of cyber security and its impact on our most critical institutions. This presentation will focus on the aforementioned three entities where national security is in jeopardy in part due to cyberculture and its intentional use for disruptive and destructive purposes. Breaches of security to the United States Department of Defense, the national power grid and the Chamber of Commerce are very real and omnipresent.

    Read More

More about The Role of "White Hat" Hackers in Information Security

Open Document