What Is Hacking?
Hacking involves exploiting vulnerabilities in cybersecurity defenses to gain unauthorized access to networks and devices. Hackers use technical knowledge, problem-solving skills, creativity and persistence to bypass security measures. They can do this for many reasons, including stealing information, accessing money, or committing other cybercrimes. Some hackers are individuals acting on their own, while others are part of hacker groups that work together.
The word “hack” has a long history dating back to the 1950s when members of MIT’s Tech Model Railroad Club would tinker with their high-tech train sets and experiment with ways to improve their functionality. When personal computers became widely available in the 1980s, hacking expanded to include working with computer code in order to create shortcuts and improvements that creators and originators didn’t intend. Today, the most common and negative usage of the term refers to gaining unauthorized access to computer systems. This is called hacking in the context of a criminal enterprise, but there are also legitimate ways to hack such as penetration testing for businesses and other organizations. These hackers are referred to as white hat hackers and their work is done ethically.
Those who engage in hacking with malicious intent are referred to as black hat hackers. Black hat hacking can involve exposing and spreading security vulnerabilities, stealing data, or even injecting malware into vulnerable computers to cause harm. The most common motivation for hackers is financial gain. This can be achieved by stealing passwords, credit card or bank details, using victims’ systems to commit Distributed Denial of Service attacks and spam, or selling compromised information on the dark web.