Hackers in media stories can be superspies, like in the movie Mission: Impossible, where Ethan Hunt drops from the ceiling to hack into the CIA computer system and steal the necessary information, or lonely, unsociable students who just want to have fun.
Hackers are a very diverse subculture. Their activities can be assessed in different ways: on the one hand, they are individuals guilty of causing multi-billion-dollar damage, and on the other, they are drivers of the development of the Internet and security systems. We believe that the truth is always better than fiction, so in this article, you can read about the most famous hackers among students and not only, and decide whether to include them in the camp of heroes or criminals.
If you are a student and are interested in hacking, you may not have enough time for your “hobby.” Fortunately, ordering online essay writing assistance can help you save time. Actually, writing services can assist you with any assignment and provide guidelines for any purpose. For example, you may find out how to write cursive letters, how to deal with term paper format, or where to look for sources for your writing.
What is Ethical Hacking?
Ethical hacking is the search for vulnerabilities in the network security of organizations, not with the purpose of stealing data or spying, but with the purpose of improving this security.
This is done by white hat hackers, also called pentesters. They work officially and receive a salary.
If a business is worried about being hacked, having its databases stolen, or being subjected to a DDoS attack, it makes sense to hire a white hat hacker. They will scan the protection and find weak spots. They will forward the report to the management, so that they can decide how much money to spend on improving the protection.
White Hat Hackers
Kevin Mitnick
A self-proclaimed “model hacker,” Mitnick faced real persecution from the authorities. His “pranks” were greatly exaggerated in the media, so his notoriety overshadowed the significance of the actual crimes. The U.S. Department of Justice describes the hacker as the most wanted computer criminal in the history of the United States. His exploits were detailed in two films: Freedom Downtime and Takedown.
Mitnick did not have the experience to commit the crimes that made him famous. He began by hacking into the punch card system to use the free bus service in Los Angeles. Like Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, Kevin tried his hand at phone fraud. Despite his numerous crimes, Mitnick was eventually convicted of hacking into the computer network of Digital Equipment Corporation and stealing software.
Mitnick’s “pranks” began to look more serious when he was sentenced to two and a half years for “hacking for fun.” He hacked the home computer of programmer and hacker Tsutomu Shimomura, which was Kevin’s undoing.
Later, Mitnick managed to escape the notoriety of a “black hat” hacker. Kevin was a computer security consultant and the author of several books. He died at 59 in 2023.
Stephen Wozniak
Wozniak is known for being Apple’s “other Steve.” He co-founded Apple Computer with the late Steve Jobs. He has been awarded the National Medal of Technology and has received honorary doctorates from Kettering University and Nova Southeastern University. Wozniak was also inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in September 2000.
He began his career creating counterfeit electronic gadgets (“blue boxes”) that allowed him to avoid long-distance phone charges. After reading an article about a phone scam in Esquire magazine, Wozniak called his friend Jobs. Together, they researched radio frequencies and developed their own “blue boxes” for long-distance calls. The pair sold these devices to their classmates in college. Wozniak even used the device to call the Pope, pretending to be Henry Kissinger.
He dropped out of college and designed the computer that would eventually make him famous. It was a brilliant idea to sell a computer fully assembled and ready to go. Wozniak sold his prized scientific calculator, and Jobs sold his Volkswagen van to raise the money to start building prototypes in Jobs’ garage. Wozniak designed the hardware and created much of the software. In the Letters section of Woz.org, he recalls that they were doing everything Ed Roberts, Bill Gates, Paul Allen, and hundreds of others had done, but without any outside help. Wozniak and Jobs sold the first batch of 100 “Apple I” machines to a local dealer for $666.66 each.
Wozniak no longer works full-time at Apple, focusing on philanthropy. His most notable work is helping the Los Gatos School District in California. Wozniak “adopted” it, providing students and teachers with state-of-the-art technology.
Ethical Hackers
Jeff Moss
Jeff Moss is a well-known hacker and the founder of hacker conferences Black Hat and Defcon.
For several years now, Jeff has been working on the “light” side, helping various organizations get rid of problems with computer network security. Previously, he was called Dark Tangent, and he has many things to his credit that a “computer security specialist,” as he is called today, should not do.
Between 2011 and 2013, Moss worked at ICANN as a Vice President and head of the information security department.
Jeff Moss has a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Gonzaga University School of Law. He held senior positions at Secure Computing and Ernst Young. He was a member of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Advisory Council from 2009 to 2020, and he consulted various organizations on ensuring computer network security.
Moss describes himself as a “hacker with 20 years of experience.”
Tim Berners-Lee
Berners-Lee is the inventor of the World Wide Web, the system we use to access websites, documents, and files on the internet. He has received worldwide recognition and, most importantly, won the Millennium Technology Prize.
As a student at Oxford University, Berners-Lee was caught hacking with a friend and was banned from using the university’s PCs. Technological innovation seemed to be in his genes. Tim’s parents were mathematicians who worked on one of the very first computers, the Manchester Mark 1.
While working at CERN, Berners-Lee created a prototype hypertext system that helped other researchers share and update information easily. He later realized that hypertext could be combined with the technology of the Internet. Berners-Lee has founded the World Wide Web Consortium at MIT. The consortium describes itself as an international organization where its members and the public work together to develop web standards. Berners-Lee’s idea of a “World Wide Web” and the World Wide Web Consortium’s standards are freely available without any patents or royalties.
Resources to Learn White Hat Hacking
- HackTheBox offers vulnerable machines that can be hacked – the creators of the resource force you to hack even the path to the invitation code. Some of the tasks posted on the site are updated regularly, some simulate real events, while others are more inclined towards CTF (Capture The Flag), which are well known in the hacking world, as well as specialized labs available for rent. This feature is already used by more than 1000 organizations.
- Hack a Day is another website that can be used for interactive hacking training. It has a great collection of instructions and many sections for ethical hackers.
- Sec Tools is a great security tool with ratings and applications. It also includes lessons on network protection. The site offers the best hacking tools.
- HackerOne is a system of rewards for finding vulnerabilities. Experienced hackers are just ready to teach you all the intricacies of ethical hacking – this is a great place for beginners. You can even create your own hacking lab for testing and simulation. This feature can help you get hands-on hacking experience.
Career Path: How to Become a Certified White Hat Hacker
Step 1 – Choose a specialization
First, a white hat hacker is not one profession, but a whole range. Thus, there are two types of hacking – defenders, or blue team, and attackers, or red team:
- Defenders (blue team) maintain system security at the proper level.
- Attackers (red team) find weak points and vulnerabilities.
Step 2 – Gain knowledge
A future hacker may already have some IT knowledge and skills, or they may not. The action plan in both situations is different.
Have knowledge and experience in IT
You can retrain on online or offline courses to become a white hat hacker if you already:
- Are familiar with the basics of programming
- Have experience in administering operating systems, such as Windows OS and Active Directory
- Know how Linux, networks, IP addressing, and routing work
- Know how to set up protection against unauthorized access based on Windows, antivirus systems, Apache 2, nginx, Auditd, and MySQL.
Usually, system administrators have such skills. It is best to switch from this profession to ethical hacking.
No knowledge or experience in IT
To work as an ethical hacker, you will need basic knowledge:
- How to write code
- How operating systems work
- How network interactions and security work.
Step 3 – Practice
When you have knowledge, you need to get practice. Of course, you should not hack the websites of state banks and private enterprises, but go to special training sites and do exercises.
For example:
- Overthewire. A site with hacker games where you can develop hacking skills. Games for any level – from beginners to gurus.
- TryHackMe. A site with tasks that help hackers acquire practical skills.
- DVWA. An application that contains various vulnerabilities. The hacker needs to find everything.
Most importantly, remember that white hat hackers are useful to any company that stores, collects, or owns sensitive and personal data.
