Ethical Hacking Essay

As computers became progressively more available at universities, user communities started to extend beyond researchers in engineering or computer science to other individuals who viewed the computer as an inquisitively flexible instrument. Whether they programmed the computers to draw pictures, play games or to assist them with the extra boring aspects of their daily work, once computers were on hand for use, there was never a lack of individuals wanting to utilize them. Because of this increasing fame of computers and their sustained high cost, access to them was frequently restricted. When refused access to the computers, several users would challenge the access controls that had been put in place. They would steal pass codes or account numbers by looking over someone’s shoulder, explore the system for bugs that might get them past the rules, or even take control of the entire system. They would commit such things in order to be able to run the programs of their option, or just to alter the confines under which their programs were running. (Fadia, 2005). Originally these computer intrusions were fairly benevolent, with the most harm being the theft of computer time. Though, these intrusions did not stay benign for long. Seldom the less talented intruders would unintentionally bring down a system or damage its files, and the system administrators would have to restart it or make repairs. Other times, when these intruders were again deprived of access once their activities were discovered, they would respond with robust destructive actions. When the number of these harmful computer intrusions became obvious, it became â€Å"news† and the news media pulled out on the story. Instead using a more accurate term of â€Å"cyber crime,† the media began using the term â€Å"hacker† to explain individuals who crack into computers for amusement, revenge, or income Since calling someone a â€Å"hacker† was at first meant as a praise, computer security professionals rather use the term â€Å"cracker† or â€Å"intruder† for those hackers who turn to the dark side of hacking. For simplicity, we will use the unambiguous terms â€Å"ethical hacker† and â€Å"criminal hacker† for the rest of this paper.