Security hacker

Not to be confused with Hacker or Hacker culture.

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A security hacker or security researcher is someone who explores methods for breaching defenses and exploiting weaknesses in a computer system or network.[1] Hackers may be motivated by a multitude of reasons, such as profit, protest, information gathering,[2] challenge, recreation,[3] or evaluation of a system weaknesses to assist in formulating defenses against potential hackers.

Longstanding controversy surrounds the meaning of the term "hacker". In this controversy, computer programmers reclaim the term hacker, arguing that it refers simply to someone with an advanced understanding of computers and computer networks,[4] and that cracker is the more appropriate term for those who break into computers, whether computer criminals (black hats) or computer security experts (white hats).[5][6] A 2014 article noted that "the black-hat meaning still prevails among the general public".[7] The subculture that has evolved around hackers is often referred to as the "computer underground".

  1. ^ Gao, Xing (2015). "Information security investment for competitive firms with hacker behavior and security requirements". Annals of Operations Research. 235: 277–300. doi:10.1007/s10479-015-1925-2. S2CID 207085416.
  2. ^ Winkler, Ira. Spies Among Us: How to Stop the Spies, Terrorists, Hackers, and Criminals You Don't Even Know You Encounter Every Day. John Wiley & Sons. 2005. pg. 92. ISBN 9780764589904.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference crackdown was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "The Hacker's Dictionary". Archived from the original on November 8, 2020. Retrieved May 23, 2013.
  5. ^ Political notes from 2012: September–December Archived December 9, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. stallman.org.
  6. ^ Raymond, Eric S. "Jargon File: Cracker". Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved May 8, 2010. Coined ca. 1985 by hackers in defense against journalistic misuse of hacker.
  7. ^ Yagoda, Ben (March 6, 2014). "A Short History of 'Hack'". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on November 10, 2015. Retrieved June 21, 2019. Although Lifehacker and other neutral or positive applications of the word [hack] are increasingly prominent, the black-hat meaning still prevails among the general public.