What Is Hacking?
Hacking is the manipulation of digital systems to perform actions they weren’t designed to allow. It can be malicious – such as stealing or deploying malware – or ethical, such as penetration testing for vulnerabilities. Malicious hacking can cause operational disruption, catastrophic financial loss and severe reputational fallout. Ethical hacking identifies these threats before they become impactful, allowing an organisation to protect its assets, users and customers.
Hackers are motivated by a variety of factors, from financial gain to activism and espionage. They are often rewarded with free access to products and services, or with notoriety for breaching difficult targets.
Generally, hackers start small: phishing for credentials or passwords through links in emails or texts. They may also try to deploy ransomware, locking a business’s systems until it pays a fee in cryptocurrency, or they might steal valuable data to sell on the dark web.
A hacker must possess a combination of skills to succeed: networking, programming, operating systems and cryptography. They are also required to keep up with security news, so they can stay ahead of the curve and exploit new system vulnerabilities.
Many home routers and smart devices ship with default usernames and passwords, enabling hackers to breach these without the victim realising. It’s recommended to always set a unique login for these types of devices and only download software from first-party sources. Hacktivists, such as Anonymous, hack for social and political change. Amateur programmers hack for fun or to test their skills and gain notoriety. Grey hat hackers, like Kevin Mitnick, who spent time in jail for breaching 40 major corporations, use their expertise to improve cybersecurity for the common good.