History
The origins of the Hacker:
The history of ethical hacking is actually just the history of hacking. Given the current portrayal of hackers as cybercriminals and thieves, it is hard to imagine the word “hacker” having anything other than negative connotations. But it wasn’t always a bad thing to be a hacker. In fact the word surfaced in its modern context at the renowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Throughout the 1960s, hacking was a term used by engineering students that simply meant finding different ways to optimize systems and machines to make them run more efficiently. Hacking was a creative activity carried out by some of the brightest people in the world. And it’s interesting to note that the idea of the ethical hacker actually predates the criminal hacker.
The renaissance of the Ethical hacker:
As hackers have become smarter and more persistent, it has become increasingly important for companies to have adequate defenses against them. This is why we have seen the concept of ethical hacking increasingly used by cybersecurity firms as a way to combat the problem.
Ethical hacking is now commonplace – it’s even possible to become what is known as a Certified Ethical Hacker. The practice is also known as white hat hacking, and it involves using the same techniques that black hat hackers use in order to break down cyber defenses. The difference is that when a white hat hacker has compromised those defenses they inform the business of how they managed to do it so that the vulnerability can be fixed.
Some of the most skilled and successful ethical hackers started as black hat hackers. For example, Kevin Poulsen, who is now a respected journalist, was actually put in prison for hacking the telephone line of a radio station contest, allowing him to win a Porsche 944 S2. Since his release, he has used his skills to uncover illicit activities on the internet.
