What is Hacking?
Hacking is the manipulation of digital systems to carry out actions they weren’t designed for. It can be legal and legitimate – such as penetration testing – or illegal and malicious – like ransomware attacks, network breaches and data theft. Hackers have a wide range of motives, from financial gain to activism and even revenge.
Hackers can range from curious individuals exploring the limits of technology in their basements to sophisticated criminal gangs and nation states. They use a variety of tools and tactics to attack systems, from the simple phishing emails that steal passwords to advanced persistent threats (APT) that can lurk in a system for months. Unlike their predecessors, who used to break into systems in isolated incidents, today’s hackers are more likely to exploit prebuilt kits and dark web marketplaces that provide hacking-as-a-service.
The term “hacker” gained popularity in the 1970s when members of MIT’s Tech Model Railroad Club would modify their high-tech train sets to extend their functionality. These early hackers were motivated by the same curiosity that drives modern hackers, as they explored the potential of computers and systems.
Hacking entered the mainstream in the 1990s, with a number of high-profile cybercrimes and arrests. These hackers targeted everything from local radio stations to the International Space Station and the Pentagon’s computer systems, earning them the moniker of “computer tinkerers.” Two years later, movies like Tron and WarGames helped popularize hacking as a serious cybersecurity threat.