Essay about Hackers and Hacking

Submitted By relliott86
Words: 970
Pages: 4
Open Document
Hackers and Hacking
Richard Elliott
Ethics for the IT Professional

IT3165
Prof Carol Kinzler
Submitted: May 31, 2015
Introduction
Hackers and hacking as it would be understood by the layman would be that of a criminal, villain or a person set on being a menace to the IT community. Not all hackers are bad nor the act of hacking. These two words bring a negative connotation to a necessary activity of the advancement of information technology. In the following paragraphs the ethical need for a hacker and the act of legal hacking better known as an Ethical Hacker or Ethical Hacking.
Hackers and Their Tools
To begin lets define what a hacker is and what is hacking. A hacker may be defined as a person who is a clever programmer or to mean someone who tries to break into computers systems. Hackers can be motivated by whomever or whatever is sponsoring his or her actions. An Ethical Hacker as defined by the EC Council (International Council of Electronic Commerce Consultants) is:
An individual who is usually employed with the organization and who can be trusted to undertake an attempt to penetrate networks and/or computer systems using the same methods and techniques as a Hacker (Certified Ethical Hacker, n.d.).
An ethical hackers or hacking is important; they think like and act like real hackers but work for the good of an organization or even the government. Ethical hackers work for organization, companies, the FBI, governments and the military. The ethical hacker uses tools and techniques to obtain secure and classified information. One such technique is penetration testing, which is assessing the overall security of a system or program before attackers do. Specifically, the process of attempting to gain access to resources without knowledge of usernames, passwords and normal means of access (Northcutt, 2006). Ethical hackers at Veracode use automated tools such static analysis and dynamic analysis which are designed to find vulnerabilities like malicious code or insufficient encryption which both may cause security breaches (DuPaul, n.d.).
How is Hacking Ethical One might say hackers and hacking is bad and illegal. In the everyday sense it is, but from the security stand, they and it are required. Information Technology is evolving and companies must stay abreast to threats and vulnerabilities. When adopting new technologies like cloud computing, virtualization, or IT outsourcing, companies are facing imminent security threats and must adjust their security processes, policies, and architectures accordingly (Lewandowska, 2012). To achieve this the course of action can likely be to hire a hacker to attempt to infiltrate new systems and to use their processes and tactics to protect the new product. By 2017 the global Cyber Security market is expected to grow to $120 billion and will have an estimated annual cost to fight cybercrime of $100 billion so employing hackers is a justified endeavor (Cyber Crime Statistice, 2013).
Is this ethical, employing an individual to basically perform illegal acts? Yes it is. An example of ethical hacking when a group of kids calling themselves ethical hackers who work for a security firm called Trustwave demonstrated how easy it can be to break in to places usually thought as being secure (Skytta, 2012). Specially, Matt Jakubowski was able to access credit cards, business, phone and internet conversations; he calls himself a “penetration tester” (one who hacks into a system with the owner’s permission) which is testing things to make sure they are secure. Jakubowski is one member of a team of ethical hackers whose customers are mainly banks and fortune 500 businesses which pay them to test and improve security. Another example, Matthew Pemble an individual employed to expose security flaws in computer systems so they can be fixed. One may ask if these ethical hackers can be trusted. Pemble worked his way from being a weapons engineer with the Royal Navy for twelve years to
Show More

Related Documents: Essay about Hackers and Hacking

Hacking: Computer Security and Hackers Essay

Computer Hacking* Peter T. Leeson Department of Economics West Virginia University Christopher J. Coyne Department of Economics Hampden-Sydney College Abstract This paper considers various classes of computer hackers, with a special emphasis on fame-driven versus profit-driven hackers. We use simple economic analysis to examine how each of these hacking “markets” work. The resulting framework is employed to evaluate current U.S. policy aimed at reducing the threat of computer hacking and shows…

Words 9555 - Pages 39

Computer Hacking Essay

Computer hacking is the practice of modifying computer hardware and software to accomplish a goal outside of the creator’s original purpose. People who engage in computer hacking activities are often called hackers. Since the word “hack” has long been used to describe someone who is incompetent at his/her profession, some hackers claim this term is offensive and fails to give appropriate recognition to their skills. Computer hacking is most common among teenagers and young adults, although there…

Words 1449 - Pages 6

Haking:. Hack and Ethical Hacker Essay

Hacking is the act of exploring and manipulating the works of another computer or other technological device or system, either for the purpose of understanding how it works or to gain unauthorized access. Hacking is the unauthorized use of computer and network resources and a fraudulent act that is illegal in some ways and helpful in others. The term “hacker” originally meant a very gifted programmer. However, in the recent years the term hacker turned out into something bad and now has a negative…

Words 732 - Pages 3

Benjamin Johnson Ethical essay final

Hackers and Hacking is it Ethical Benjamin Johnson ENG103 February 18, 2015 Instructor: Prof. Holt In June 1903 John Ambrose Fleming, a British physicist, and engineer, performed a demonstration of the latest radio technology—the wireless telegraph—at the prestigious Royal Institution in London. Developed by the celebrated Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi, the wireless telegraph sent messages across long distances by Morse code. During the highly-anticipated demonstration, Marconi would…

Words 1177 - Pages 5

Term Papers

Ethical Hacking Joshua J Hernandez Park University Ethical Hacking Over the years technology has advanced just as Moore’s Law has predicted. Not only does the technology double every year in a compounding way, but those who understand these concepts grow as well. These talented individuals can be looked at from several different viewpoints and depending on who that person may be could in fact determine whether it is a positive viewpoint or a negative one. In this paper I will…

Words 2152 - Pages 9

research paper

paper IS ETHICAL HACKING ETHICAL? Abstracts: This paper investigates the ethics behind ethical hacking and whether there are issues that lie with this new field of work. Since ethical hacking has been a disputable subject over the recent years, the inquiry stays of the genuine aims of ethical programmers. The paper likewise takes a gander at routes in which future exploration could be investigated to help keep ethical hacking, ethical. The keywords− Ethical hacking, hacking, hackers, education and…

Words 2526 - Pages 11

Essay about P3 Security Risks and Protection Mechanisms

SECURITY RISKS AND PROTECTION MECHANISMS Over the years, Internet has become very popular for those of all ages and as a result, criminals and hackers have created many techniques to affect web servers. In the past few years, there have been a number of high profile hackings taken place, for example, Sony and their PlayStation 3 records were hacked in which personal details from almost 77 million people were stolen which prevented users from playing online through the service. This essay has been…

Words 948 - Pages 4

Ethics In Action

been victims of identity theft in the last five years, including nearly 10 million in 2004. (Cybercrime: Expansive and Expensive, 2005) Due to the incredible amount of time and money that is lost through identity theft and various other hacking activities, hacking is not an ethical activity. Some colleges teach virus writing in order to prepare students to work as an antivirus professional. While this might be a good way to learn how to combat viruses, it is unnecessary, as most antivirus professionals…

Words 482 - Pages 2

Should The Government Hire Hackers Essay

Should The Government Hire Hackers (more) ? Linus Torvalds says in his Prologue that, for the hacker, "the computer itself is entertainment, "meaning that the hacker programs because he finds programming intrinsically interesting, exciting, and joyous (The Hacker Ethic and the Spirit of the Information Age by PEKKA HIMANEN)” Many private companies have been hiring hackers not to be confused by crackers (Someone who enjoys hacking for malicious purposes) who are bad. As a matter of fact many states…

Words 601 - Pages 3

Malware and Hackers Essay

Background * What is a hacker? * Why hack? * History of Hacking * Terms in Hacking * Common Technique Computer Crime and Security Exploits * Social Engineering * Cyber Warfare * Password Cracking * The virus * Worms * Trojan Horse Extras * DEFCON * 5 of the Most Devastating Hacks Introduction Hello, and welcome to the world of hacking. In this book, I will show you the ethics of hacking, methods used, and even why hacking can be good sometimes…

Words 4826 - Pages 20