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3 Comments 2,938 views Ethical Hacking ?
ASK! about Computers & IT
While there are numerous definitions of hacking, media definition commonly refers to unauthorized access into a computer system. In fact, there are ample examples of hackers charged for the offence under the Computer Misuse Act (Chapter 50A).
This Act states that “..any person who knowingly causes a computer to perform any function for the purpose of securing access without authority to any program or data held in any computer shall be guilty of an offence..” Please click here to read up more about this Act.
Yet an article by Samantha Santa Maria published in the Straits Times highlighted the controversy of a “good hacker”. In that article, self-confessed “ethical” hacker, Mr Tom Cervenka illustrates with his own example how ethical hacking “can benefit service providers by locating security holes in Internet systems”.
(Source: Factiva: Is there such a thing as a good hacker? By Samantha Santa Maria, 9 December 1999, Straits Times )
The following definition from Whatis.com (claiming to be the leading IT encyclopedia and learning center) suggests hackers may be a profession hired by the companies who want to be hacked:
“An ethical hacker is a computer and network expert who attacks a security system on behalf of its owners, seeking vulnerabilities that a malicious hacker could exploit. To test a security system, ethical hackers use the same methods as their less principled counterparts, but report problems instead of taking advantage of them. Ethical hacking is also known as penetration testing, intrusion testing, and red teaming. An ethical hacker is sometimes called a white hat, a term that comes from old Western movies, where the “good guy” wore a white hat and the “bad guy” wore a black hat.”
( Source: http://whatis.techtarget.com/ )
Recommended B O O K S
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* Please check online catalogue for location & book availability.
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Title Hacker’s challenge 3 : 20 brand-new forensic scenarios & solutions / David Pollino … [et al.].
English 005.8 HAC -[COM]
Title Hacking for dummies / by Kevin Beaver ; foreword by Stuart McClure.
English 005.8 BEA -[COM]
Title Certified ethical hacker / Michael Gregg.
English 005.8 GRE -[COM]
Title 1337 h4x0r h4ndb00k / Tapeworm.
English 005.8 TAP -[COM]
Title Unofficial guide to ethical hacking / Ankit Fadia.
English 005.8 FAD -[COM]
W E B S I T E S
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Last accessed date to all sites listed below: 21.Sep.07
Hack This Site
www.hackthissite.org/
Desc on site: ” A free, safe and legal training ground for hackers to test and expand their hacking skills.”
Hacker’s Wisdom
www.ee.ryerson.ca:8080/~elf/hack/
Desc: A page with extensive links to everything from hacker’s profiling to hacker’s humour.
Hacker’s FAQ
www.plethora.net/~seebs/faqs/hacker.html
Desc on site: “The list [of FAQ] is an attempt to cover some of the issues that will invariably come up when people without previous experience of the hacker community try to hire a hacker.”
Hacker’s Dictionary
www.catb.org/jargon/
Desc on site: “A comprehensive compendium of hacker slang illuminating many aspects of hackish tradition, folklore, and humor.”
Answered by Goh Yee Ling, Librarian, Adult and Young People’s Services
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I just want to possibly add a link to the section of links above. I am a member of HTS but have long abandoned my account there. Instead there is a much better site that comes from the same concept as HTS. http://www.hellboundhackers.org
That is a site that you may want to look in to. They have so many more ways of teaching people how to use computers than any other site on the internet. A must if you wish to be an IT professional one day.
Many thanks for this fine post. Lots to learn here. I will be back many times.
Hey thanks a lot for sharing such a nice informative article.
An Ethical Hacker is one name given to a Penetration Tester. An ethical hacker is usually employed by an organization who trusts him to attempt to penetrate networks and/or computer systems, using the same methods as a hacker, for the purpose of finding and fixing computer security vulnerabilities. Illegal hacking (i.e.; gaining unauthorized access to computer systems) is a crime in most countries, but penetration testing done by request of the owner of the targeted system(s) or network(s) is not, except in Germany.
For more information on Professional Training and Certification for Ethical Hacking check this link: http://www.eccouncil.org/certification/certified_ethical_hacker.aspx