A “hacker” does not necessarily mean “bad” or “criminal”. A hacker is simply someone who alters computer security systems either for an organization or motives of their own. To categorize these hackers and their different hacking objectives and motivations, we use old spaghetti western film terms as metaphors; ‘White hat’ – usually seen donned by heroes, ‘Black hat’ – often worn by villains, and ‘Grey hat’ – something in the middle.
White Hat Hackers
Is it that hard to believe? Hacking for good? That is exactly what White hat hackers are. White hat hackers aka ‘ethical hackers’ are given legal permission, often for a payable fee, to test a company’s computer security system and find vulnerabilities that can potentially cause security to be comprised by malicious hackers. They conduct vulnerability assessment and penetration testing to secure the organization’s computer systems.
Black Hat Hackers
Black hat hackers are ultimately what stereotypical meanings of hackers stand for. This malicious category of hackers supports criminal acts through their hacking skills. They illegally attack computer systems, gain access to sensitive information, steal data, and corrupt documents for personal gains, typically for large amounts of ransom. These criminals/thieves are responsible for creating malware to break into systems of organizations.
Grey Hat Hackers
Similar to life, we often see that not everything is black or white, some may fall into a grey area. Grey hat hackers may try to compromise an organization’s computer system without permission, reporting the findings back to them as asking for permission to fix them for a fee. Grey hat hackers do not have intentions as malicious as Black hat hackers but are simply trying to gain something for their own findings
Donning the white hat, CyberQuote offers Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Testing services to help companies ensure their IT infrastructure is secure against cyber attacks and minimize the risk of data breaches.
At CyberQuote, we believe training the users is key to having great cyber hygiene. Our Cyber-Safeguard Awareness Programme (C-SAP), which is accredited by the Institute of Banking and Finance (IBF), is designed for companies to increase cybersecurity awareness of their employees. CyberQuote also provides solutions for Cyber Hygiene. For more details, please contact us today!