What is Hacking?
Hacking is the practice of gaining unauthorized access to a computer system, device or account. Originally, this involved changing computer code to create a digital path into the target device but now hackers employ a broader range of methods including social engineering to steal data and exploitation tools that can circumvent existing security measures.
Hackers can use this unauthorized access to do anything from obtain credit card details for financial gain, corporate espionage, political activism or just to cause havoc and inconvenience. Bad actors are usually motivated by greed, or the desire to embarrass or humiliate a business or individual, while state-sponsored hacking is conducted for national intelligence purposes.
There are also ethical hackers (also called white hat hackers) who work to prevent cyberattacks by identifying vulnerabilities that can be exploited before a cybercriminal can take advantage of them. The cybersecurity profession requires both technical expertise and a deep understanding of how to detect and defend against attacks, which are becoming increasingly sophisticated as we move into an entirely digital world.
The term hacker has become synonymous with someone who commits a cybercrime, but in the programmer subculture of hackers, the word is often used as a compliment to describe a particularly brilliant or knowledgeable individual. This is the origin of the popular usage of the word in the media and public which has led to its current pejorative connotations. The 1988 release of the film WarGames featuring a hack into NORAD raised the level of awareness about hacking and led to the term being used to describe computer criminals.