Ethical hacking vs. hacking

Hackers, who are often referred to as black-hat hackers, are those known for illegally breaking into a victim’s networks. Their motives are to disrupt systems, destroy or steal data and sensitive information, and engage in malicious activities or mischief.

Black-hat hackers usually have advanced knowledge for navigating around security protocols, breaking into computer networks, and writing the malware that infiltrates systems. Here are some of the differences:

Ethical hackers, commonly called white-hat hackers, use many of the same skills and knowledge as black-hat hackers but with the approval of the company that hires them. These information security professionals are hired specifically to help find and secure vulnerabilities that may be susceptible to a cyber attack. Ethical hackers will regularly engage in assessing systems and networks and reporting those findings.