Lesson 5.1: White, black and grey hats: what makes hacking ethical
Where the word hacker comes from, the white, black and grey hats, and why the line between them is not skill or tools but permission, scope, intent and what you do with what you find. The codes of ethics security professionals sign. In the lab you read a real-looking test authorisation and check a web server's log against it: one visitor had no permission at all, and even the hired tester stepped outside the agreed time window once.
17 min
You will learn to
- Explain the original meaning of hacker
- Tell white, black and grey hats apart
- Explain why permission, not the tool, decides what is ethical and legal
- Check traffic in a log against a written authorisation
- Name the core promises of a security code of ethics
Key terms
- Hacker
- Originally someone who explores how systems work and makes them do new things. Today the word is used for both defenders and attackers.
- White hat (ethical hacker)
- Tests systems with the owner's written permission, inside an agreed scope, and reports everything to the owner.
- Black hat
- Breaks into systems without permission for gain, damage or fun.
- Grey hat
- Breaks in without permission but without malicious aims, for example to report the hole afterwards.
- Penetration test
- An authorised, simulated attack on a system to find weaknesses before real attackers do.
- Code of ethics
- The promises a profession makes. Security certifications require members to sign one.
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