Ethical Hacking Overview (What Is Hacking/Introduction Of Hacking)
What is Hacking :
Hacking is the process of attempting to gain or successfully gaining, unauthorized access to computer resources. Computer hacking is the practice of modifying computer hardware and software to accomplish a goal outside of the creator’s original purpose.
Introduction of Hacking :
Hacking has been a part of computing for 40 years. Some of the first hackers were members of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Tech Model Railroading Club (TMRC) in 1950s. Security is the condition of being protected against danger or loss. In general sense, security is a concept similar to safety. In the case of networks the security is also called the information security. Information security means protecting information and information system from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, or destruction. The intent of hacking is to discover vulnerabilities so system can be better secured. Hackers may be motivated by a multitude of reasons, such as profit, protest, challenge, enjoyment or to evaluate those weaknesses to assist in removing them. Basic purpose of hacker is to know the system internally without any bad intension.
Types of Hacking :
- Website Hacking – Website hacking means taking control from the website owner to a person who hacks the website.
- Network Hacking – Network hacking is generally means gathering information about domain by using tools like Telnet, Netstat, etc. over the network.
- Ethical Hacking – Ethical hacking is where a person hacks to find weakness in a system and then usually patches them.
- Email Hacking – Email hacking is illicit access to an email account or email correspondence.
- Password Hacking – Password hacking or password cracking is the process of recovering secret passwords from data that has been stored in or transmitted by a computer system.
- Online Banking Hacking – Online banking hacking is unauthorized accessing bank accounts without knowing the password or without permission of account holder.
- Computer Hacking – Computer hacking is when files on your computer are viewed, created, or edited without your authorization.
Why do Hackers Hack?
There are many reasons why people hack. Some of the reasons are listed below:
- Steal important information.
- Destroy someone’s privacy.
- Destroy enemies computer network during the war.
Advantages of Hacking :
- “To catch a thief you have to think like a thief”
- Helps in closing the open holes in the system network
- Used to recover lost information where the computer password has been lost
- Teaches you that no technology is 100% secure
- Provides security to banking and financial establishments
- Prevents website defacement's
- To test how good security is on your own network
- To recover lost information, especially in case you lost your password.
- To perform penetration testing to strengthen computer and network security.
- To put adequate preventative measures in place to prevent security breaches.
- To have a computer system that prevents malicious hackers from gaining access.
Disadvantages of Hacking :
- It can harm someone’s privacy.
- A malicious attack on the system.
- Unauthorized access to private information isn’t good.
- Criminals can use it to their advantage.
Conclusion :
Ethical hacking is now a growing profession that is still used by the United States government, as well as technology companies and other corporations. Many large companies employ teams of ethical hackers to help keep their systems secure, such as IBM. The most important thing, until and unless a ethical hacker thinks like a cracker you can never become a expert ethical hacker because to get most out of any computer system you must understand the mindset of crackers that what they can do and up to what level they can damage. Now when you will identify the vulnerabilities and loopholes, if you fixes them so that in future anyone cannot breach that same vulnerability then you are Hacker or ethical hacker or White Hat hacker and if you utilized that loophole of misdeeds or fun then its cracking or Black hat hacking.
