Understanding the Purpose of Ethical Hacking


When I tell people that I am an ethical hacker, I usually hear snickers and comments like "That's an oxymoron." Many people ask, "Can hacking be ethical?" Yes! That best describes what I do as a security professional. I use the same software tools and techniques as malicious hackers to find the security weakness in computer networks and systems. Then I apply the necessary fix or patch to prevent the malicious hacker from gaining access to the data. This is a never-ending cycle as new weaknesses are constantly being discovered in computer systems and patches are created by the software vendors to mitigate the risk of attack.
Ethical hackers are usually security professionals or network penetration testers who use their hacking skills and toolsets for defensive and protective purposes. Ethical hackers who are security professionals test their network and systems security for vulnerabilities using the same tools that a hacker might use to compromise the network. Any computer professional can learn the skills of ethical hacking.
The term cracker describes a hacker who uses their hacking skills and toolset for destructive or offensive purposes such as disseminating viruses or performing denial-of-service (DoS) attacks to compromise or bring down systems and networks. No longer just looking for fun, these hackers are sometimes paid to damage corporate reputations or steal or reveal credit card information, while slowing business processes and compromising the integrity of the organization.
Note 
Another name for a cracker is a malicious hacker.

Hackers can be divided into three groups:
  • White Hats Good guys, ethical hackers
  • Black Hats Bad guys, malicious hackers
  • Gray Hats Good or bad hacker; depends on the situation
Ethical hackers usually fall into the white-hat category, but sometimes they're former gray hats who have become security professionals and who now use their skills in an ethical manner.

White Hats

White hats are the good guys, the ethical hackers who use their hacking skills for defensive purposes. White-hat hackers are usually security professionals with knowledge of hacking and the hacker toolset and who use this knowledge to locate weaknesses and implement countermeasures. White-hat hackers are prime candidates for the exam. White hats are those who hack with permission from the data owner. It is critical to get permission prior to beginning any hacking activity. This is what makes a security professional a white hat versus a malicious hacker who cannot be trusted.

Black Hats

Black hats are the bad guys: the malicious hackers or crackers who use their skills for illegal or malicious purposes. They break into or otherwise violate the system integrity of remote systems, with malicious intent. Having gained unauthorized access, black-hat hackers destroy vital data, deny legitimate users service, and just cause problems for their targets. Black-hat hackers and crackers can easily be differentiated from white-hat hackers because their actions are malicious. This is the traditional definition of a hacker and what most people consider a hacker to be.

Gray Hats

Gray hats are hackers who may work offensively or defensively, depending on the situation. This is the dividing line between hacker and cracker. Gray-hat hackers may just be interested in hacking tools and technologies and are not malicious black hats. Gray hats are self-proclaimed ethical hackers, who are interested in hacker tools mostly from a curiosity standpoint. They may want to highlight security problems in a system or educate victims so they secure their systems properly. These hackers are doing their "victims" a favor. For instance, if a weakness is discovered in a service offered by an investment bank, the hacker is doing the bank a favor by giving the bank a chance to rectify the vulnerability.
From a more controversial point of view, some people consider the act of hacking itself to be unethical, like breaking and entering. But the belief that "ethical" hacking excludes destruction at least moderates the behavior of people who see themselves as "benign" hackers. According to this view, it may be one of the highest forms of "hackerly" courtesy to break into a system and then explain to the system operator exactly how it was done and how the hole can be plugged; the hacker is acting as an unpaid—and unsolicited—tiger team (a group that conducts security audits for hire). This approach has gotten many ethical hackers in legal trouble. Make sure you know the law and your legal liabilities when engaging in ethical hacking activity.
Many self-proclaimed ethical hackers are trying to break into the security field as consultants. Most companies don't look favorably on someone who appears on their doorstep with confidential data and offers to "fix" the security holes "for a price." Responses range from "thank you for this information, we'll fix the problem" to calling the police to arrest the self-proclaimed ethical hacker.
The difference between white hats and gray hats is that permission word. Although gray hats might have good intentions, without the correct permission they can no longer be considered ethical.
Now that you understand the types of hackers, let's look at what hackers do. This may seem simple—they hack into computer systems—but sometimes it's not that simple or nebulous. There is a process that should be followed and information that needs to be documented. In the next section, we'll look at what hackers, and most importantly ethical hackers, do.

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