Preface
Nowhere is the term hacker more misconstrued
than in the network security field. This is understandable because
the very same tools that network security professionals use to probe
the robustness of their own networks also can be used to launch
attacks on any machine on the Internet. The difference between system
administrators legitimately testing their own machines and a system
cracker attempting to gain unauthorized access isn't
so much a question of techniques or tools, but a matter of intent.
After all, as with any powerful piece of technology, a security tool
isn't inherently good or badthis
determination depends entirely on how it is used. The same hammer can
be used to either build a wall or knock it down.The difference between "white hat"
and "black hat" hackers
isn't the tools or techniques they use (or even the
color of their hats), but their intent. The difference is subtle but
important. White hat hackers find that building secure systems
presents an interesting challenge, and their security can be truly
tested only through a thorough knowledge of how to subvert such
systems. Black hat hackers (more appropriately called
crackers) pursue precisely the same knowledge,
but without regard for the people who built the systems or the
servers they attack. They use their knowledge to subvert these
systems for their own personal gain, often to the detriment of the
systems they infiltrate.Of course, tales of daring international techno-robberies and
black-clad, cigarette-smoking, laptop-wielding evil masterminds tend
to sell better than simple tales of the engineer who built a strong
network, and so the term hacking has a bad
reputation in the popular press. They use it to refer to individuals
who break into systems or who wreak havoc using computers as their
weapon. Among people who solve problems, though, the term
hack refers to a
"quick-n-dirty" solution to a
problem, or a clever way to get something done. And the term
hacker is taken very much as a compliment,
referring to someone as being creative, i.e.,
having the technical chops to get things done. The Hacks series is an
attempt to reclaim this word, document the ways people are hacking
(in a good way), and pass the hacker ethic of creative participation
on to the uninitiated. Seeing how others approach systems and
problems is often the quickest way to learn about a new technology.
Only by openly discussing security flaws and implementations can we
hope to build stronger systems. |
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