Hacking has different meaning for different people for some people it is seen as non-ethical or an illegal means of obtaining purpose, for some people it is a means of work and it serves as a means of protection against digital theft, hacking is a tool that can be applied by different agencies for different purposes, the idea of hacking was developed in order to gain information which can not be ordinarily obtained, this is used by security agencies, government agencies, financial institutions and judiciary systems. The use of hacking systems in different areas of life requires for even a layman to know the basics in order to protect ones self from the bad and dangers of it, as some individuals take advantage of it to prey and pry on others.
DEFINITION OF HACKING
Hacking is the ability to gain unauthorized access into a computer system or device, and control it, hacking is not always illegal and it can be used for a greater good, diverting national threats or recovering stolen assets but in the present era people can argue that the bad aspects of hacking overshadows the good therefore delegating it towards the aspect of been careful, hacking is needed in some ethical setting in order to get things done, for example a man loses his money to a scammer and the scammers account is traced, the account will be accessed and placed on a lien until the money is recovered or even investigations concluded. The name hacking first appeared in 1970 in the U.S when an edition of psychology today ran the headlines “hacker’s paper” on some students which hacked the national studio library and other government agencies, this gave government agencies to investigate further and discover more about hacking and how it can be used for the benefit of the government and other agencies.
DIFFERENT TYPES OF HACKING(HACKERS)
There are three different types of hacking
- Blackhat hacking/hackers: This style of hacking or hackers are the illegal or unethical hacker who use their skills to gain access to peoples resources and either loot their money or disrupt an organization’s business, this type of hacking are banned by government all over the world as it is detrimental to both the government and its nationales, hackers that practice this form of hacking do it hiding behind closed doors and can be arrested or jailed for it.
- Whitehat and ethical hacking/hackers: This type of hackers are employed by the government or other agencies to work for them for the greater good, for the protection of a nation and for financial investigation for example in 2021,the United Nations was allegedly hacked by RUSSIA due to the Nato agreement but the American hackers countered the attack ,although it was later discovered that it was not a government lead attack, the American lead hackers are those known as the whitehat hackers.
- Greyhat hacking/hackers: This type of hackers are in between the good guys and the bad guys, these people are the ones that create the bridge, they can be employed by the government or work independently.
There are certain devices that are vulnerable to attack more than others, devices like smart Routers, webcams, emails, jailbreak phones, these devices need extra care and precautions in order for them not to fall prey of unethical hackers.
MEANS OF DEVICE PROTECTION
- Unique password for accounts: One of the main means of device protection is the use of password that are strong and cannot be easily detected, the basic formation for a strong password is the ability to have an uppercase, a lower case, a symbol, and a number ,in certain situations it is also important to use a security question.
- HTTP encryption: The use of the http at the beginning of a url can detect when a site that a user is trying to login into is trying to steal information from a user, it will prompt the connection to be disrupted. this gives some form of coverage to the user to choose whether to continue on thew link or not.
- Change default passwords/Usernames: Any sites opened or logged in, the default passwords must be changed to a personal one in order not to be easily accessed by hackers.
- Use VPN: Reroute information in order to gain total control and coverage, VPN helps you build firewalls over any system.
Hacking is a controlled system that works for both good and bad, it is a tool that needs to be employed and it can also be advised that people be alert in order not to fall prey of the disadvantages of it. As we dive deeper into cybersecurity, the word hacking might come up in a constant manner,