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Whitehat Vs. Blackhat Hackers

  • Introduction

There are two primary forms of hackers based on the ethicality of their actions and the methods used to access and penetrate the defenses for information and information systems. White hat hackers are ethical hackers who use their knowledge of information security to defend systems. In contrast, black hat hackers are the evil, unethical type of hackers who use their knowledge of hacking for evil intentions. Their hacking is always considered unethical, with many looking down upon them as a unique challenge to the security of a company, business, or government information. The modern-day internet is full of hacking cases, but only some incidents will be reported. Some incidences are usually done deliberately and are aimed at bringing greater effectiveness and efficiency to the digital defenses that are already in place. When you understand the two kinds of hackers, you will be much more capable of telling the difference and appreciating one for the goodness in their actions. White hat hackers are hired to do their job and must first sign a non-disclosure agreement.

This agreement enforces trust, confidence, and silence from the white hat hacker and makes it possible for companies working with information to keep it safe and their work secretive. A white hat hacker will be employed whenever a company needs to discover security flaws in its information systems. The main tasks and duties of the hackers will be to determine the weaknesses and deficiencies in an information system’s security defenses. When they have done their research, the white hat hackers will prepare a detailed and thorough report of their findings. The report will include as many details as possible about their penetration tests and what they discovered about your information security systems. The detail will also list the vulnerabilities that were discovered in the course of the test and some of the best ways to patch against these being used by hackers. A white hat hacking exercise’s main importance is often finding the security holes, weaknesses, and vulnerabilities in information and web systems. Once these have been listed, the white hat hacker will then prepare another piece of the report with the patches they recommend to fix the security flaws and weaknesses on your system. Being knowledgeable people, white hat hackers have skills they can use to recommend the best fixes to your gaping information security flaws and enable you to have a much safer online life for your company, business, startup, or organization.

  • Whitehat Hackers

White hat hackers are good hackers who use their skills and knowledge for good causes. The hackers have the same (or better) skills than the black hat hackers, and all their work is ethical and fair. They will not remove any information from your security assessment and will not use any vulnerability they have discovered unless it is patched up first. White hat hackers are meant to spot security weaknesses in systems and patch them before the evil hackers become aware of the same vulnerabilities and use them to gain unauthorized access to your information systems. Companies, businesses, and organizations usually hire hackers to deliver security tests for modern companies and organizations. They are also good consultants whenever a company is looking for ways of upgrading their digital defenses and will be there to readily provide the answers to any questions you might have for them. Modern businesses also need white hat hackers to determine which areas of their digital defense need the most improvements and adjustments to improve its effectiveness and efficiency to keep hackers and evil hackers out of your company information systems. White hat hackers also take their time to test out a security system thoroughly. As such, they will quickly discover more security flaws and vulnerabilities in your information system than a black hat hacker in a hurry would be capable of finding in the same amount of time. Being patient, the white hat hackers will note down anything they find out about your digital defenses and how they can be used to keep your information systems safe and protected from all kinds of cyber threats and exploits invented by hackers. The white hat hacker will then submit their complete report of their analysis to the company or organization that hired them in the first place and let them patch up their systems and upgrade them to greater levels of reliability and efficiency.

  • Blackhat Hackers

Black hat hackers are a different category from white hat hackers. Their main aim is to cause destruction, mayhem, and as much digital theft as they can manage when they get into an information system. The hackers are also experienced and, within a few minutes, will discover minor to significant security flaws in your system. They will carefully note down each of the weaknesses or vulnerabilities they discover and then look for one that can easily find an exploit. The exploits are used to break into information systems. Whenever you have vulnerabilities in your system, the black hat hacker will only have to develop exploits and test them whenever they have access to your systems.

person holding black hat
Photo by Guilherme Cunha on Unsplash

Black hat hackers do not report their activities to the companies and systems they are about to hack. They do not reveal any vulnerabilities they have discovered unless they profit from selling this information to other parties on the dark web. Black hat hacker is always considered to be unethical. Whenever the authorities track them down, they usually get confined to prison and face other legal action from the systems in place. Black hat hackers might also use your security weaknesses and flaws to develop software, such as malware, to exploit these known security holes in your information and digital defense systems.

  • Conclusion

There are two main kinds of hackers; white hat and black hat. Both hackers have good knowledge of information systems and how they are secured. As such, they can discover your information systems’ flaws and critical vulnerabilities. However, the two types of hackers also use their information differently, with the white hat hackers making a report of all their findings while the black hat hacker will not even bother to clear their tracks from your system and leave it spotless.