Cybersecurity is more important than ever before becasue of the heavy reliance which we all have on computer systems and on cloud-based storage. This is great news for the likes of Bharat Bhise HNA security expert and a cybersecurity expert who is also a very good friend of mine. The reason why this is so much more important than ever before is becasue we are more exposed and vulnerable than we ever have been before, and the risk of an attack is something that everyone should be aware of.
In the past, those who really had to spend the big bucks on cybersecurity was the big corporations and the governments, but now the way in which all of the use computers and the things which we do on those computers has left many of us at risk of an attack, right in our homes.
Many of you got in touch with us after an article which we wrote that was loosely related to hacking, asking us why people hack and what the intentions are behind those who are performing the hack. Instead of us taking on this question I got in touch with the guru that is Bharat Bhise, to see what his take on the question was, and here is what he had to say.
Legal Hacking
Contrary to what you may have thought, not all hacking is illegal and the first type of hackers that Bharat wanted to talk about are those who hack, in order to keep us safe. As oxymoronic as this may sound, these ethical hackers have all of the guile and skill of criminal hackers, but they put their powers to good use.
These men and women actually studied hacking at college and they have then gone on to work for some of the world’s biggest cybersecurity companies. The role of the ethical hacker is very easy to understand, it is their job to try and hack the system before the criminal hackers are able to.
This makes the software far more secure and gives the companies who design it the peace of mind that their product is in great condition before they roll it out.
Sports Hacking
Believe it or not, the majority of people who are out there hacking are doing so for no other reason than to get some bragging rights over their fellow hackers. This is a community that really thrives on competition, friendly competition, which is why so many will look to break into systems and databases for no other reason than to know that they are able to do it.
Those who do this are of course still committing a crime in hacking, but they never steal any information or do anything which is against the law beyond the hack itself. This is what we refer to as sports hacking and there is always a rise in this whenever a new security product comes out, as it is essentially like laying the gauntlet down to the hackers, saying ‘come and have a go’ which they of course do.
Hacking For Hire
What we have seen in the majority of cases when a hacker has been caught is that they are not the criminal mastermind, but rather just a cog in the wheel. Many hackers are paid for their skills and they get approached and asked to hack a certain company or individual, take some relevant information and then pass it on for a large fee.
What we have also seen in these cases is that in the main those who are performing the hack actually have no idea what is going to be done with the information which they have taken, they just get what they have been told to and then collect the money. This, of course, is still very illegal, and those who are doing it could certainly face jail time. With this being said, if proven that they didn’t know what they were getting or why they can often have their sentences reduced or be charged with a lesser crime.
Finally, of course, there are those who wish to hack for one reason and that is to get information to commit a crime, to steal money directly or indeed to get information that can be used to extort someone. This, in terms of the legality of it all at least, is the worst form of hacking. What we have seen however is that these individuals are often caught very quickly indeed, as the law enforcement agencies have become very good at weeding out the criminals behind big hacks.
There you have it, straight from the expert’s mouth, the number of ways and the reasons behind why people hack.
