Hacking Research Paper

What do you think of when I say the word “Computer Hacker”? You probably think of some sort of criminal bent on gaining access into your bank accounts or remote control over your computer. Granted, hackers have gotten a bad reputation from the media, who sometimes report break-ins of databases, computers, and other virtual resources. However, this does not mean that every hacker has a desire to do harm. In fact, hackers are hardly the bad guys. The word hacker has been so warped and distorted by the media that people now believe that hackers are all criminals and intend to do harm. The truth is, hackers are people and therefore many of them have morals that disallow them to purposely cause harm. I believe that regardless of the stereotypical view of hackers in today’s society, the majority of them help the world of computers rather than damage it. Action should be taken against the people who make the internet unsafe, not the people who make the internet safer.

According to an article in Whatis.com, hackers primarily come in different shades or colors. The article goes on to say that these colors are significant in determining what kind of hacker he/she is. The lighter the color, the less harm a hacker intends. For example, a hacker with good intent and moral standing is called a white hat hacker. Another point made in the article was that the word “hat” after the color of the hacker is meant to be symbolic of old Western movies where the hero always wore a white hat and “bad guys” wore the black hats (Whatis.com). Black hat hackers, as you may have guessed, are the hackers who do intend harm. They deface websites, steal data, and exploit security flaws for personal gain. Black hats are sometimes called “crackers” as well because they crack programs and passwords to gain entry into a location where they are unauthorized to be (morebusiness.com). There are also hackers who are referred to as gray hat hackers. These are the hackers who have ethics, know what’s