From the course: Programming Foundations: Web Security
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What is a hacker?
From the course: Programming Foundations: Web Security
What is a hacker?
- When I use the term hacker, you might imagine a person at a computer, wearing a hoodie, scary looking, their face hidden from view, but that's not what hackers look like. In fact, hacker can have a positive meaning. It can mean someone who tinkers with computers and electronics to come up with innovative ideas. Many of today's most reputable technology companies began as a couple of hackers experimenting in a garage. Security professionals divide hackers into two types: white hat and black hat. This imagery draws inspiration from classic western movies. The good cowboys wear white hats while the bad ones wear black hats. Their skills may be the same, but they have different intentions. A white-hat hacker is a security specialist who uses their skills to improve security by detecting vulnerabilities before malicious black-hat hackers can exploit them. Black-hat hackers are the ones we want to protect against. Black-hat…
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