Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Note
As is often the case, science fiction predated real science. The
concept of a computer virus was published in 1969 in a story by
David Gerrold in Galaxy Magazine . And in 1984, the term cyber-
space was introduced in William Gibson's science-fiction novel
Neuromancer .
It is of sociological interest that hackers soon began to coalesce into organized
groups that shared data and information. These groups started to appear in the
early 1980s. In fact, hackers soon created a national magazine and began to hold
conferences such as the famous Black Hat conference. This alarming social phe-
nomenon led to a significant advance in virus and threat technologies, includ-
ing polymorphic viruses, worms, botnets, and many others discussed later in this
chapter.
As hacking became popular, several forms of hacking were defined by using
hat colors to indicate different levels of ethics and criminality.
• A white hat hacker is one who hacks for benign purposes such as inform-
ing companies of security vulnerabilities. Many white hat hackers assist
law enforcement groups.
• A black hat hacker is one who hacks for malicious purposes such as iden-
tity theft or disrupting computer and network operations. Many black hat
hacks are criminal offenses in most countries, and law enforcement
groups attempt to identify this class and arrest those who have committed
serious criminal acts.
• A gray hat hacker is one who combines ethical and nonethical behavior.
For example, a gray hat hacker might penetrate a security flaw in a cor-
porate system. Instead of doing damage, the gray hat hacker might ask for
money to tell the security officials of the company exactly what the secur-
ity flaw is and how it can be fixed. This is not illegal but not ethical either.
• A blue hat hacker is usually an employee of a software or computer com-
pany who uses hacking skills to help test new software prior to release.
This term is used within Microsoft, for example.
During the 1980s and '90s, hackers and cybercriminals seemed to be better or-
ganized and have access to more current data than those charged with defending
networks from attack.
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